Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, April 9

Get picks and parlays for Thursday's NHL slate, including Wild vs Stars, Sharks vs Ducks and Predators vs Mammoth. Get moneyline picks, totals and more.

April 9, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, April 9

By:

Daniel Dobish

April 9, 2026

NHL Picks

NHL Best Bets & Picks: Wild vs Stars, Sharks vs Ducks & More – Expert Game Previews

The National Hockey League (NHL) has a total of 14 games on the schedule Thursday ahead of a rare day off for all teams Friday. The Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders meet at 6:45 p.m. ET on Hulu/Disney+/ESPN+, while the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars drop the puck at 9:00 p.m. ET, also available on Hulu.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Thursday's MLB and/or NBA action. Good luck with all of your plays! Let's get started.

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For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.

Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars

The Wild (45-21-12) and Stars (46-20-12) meet at American Airlines Center in Dallas at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and Hulu.

Minnesota enters play with 102 points, just two points back of Dallas for second in the Central Division. Finishing in second earns home-ice advantage for the first-round series between these two teams, as neither can catch the Colorado Avalanche (112 points).

The Wild are 23-11-4 on the road this season, while the Stars are 24-11-4 at home. Both teams are impressive in goal differential as well, with Dallas at plus-48 on the season, and Minnesota sitting with a plus-36 mark. Those are the second- and third-best marks in the Western Conference behind the Avalanche (plus-93).

Minnesota leads the season series 2-1, with the home team winning all three meetings, and five consecutive matchups in this series. The underdog is 4-2 in the past six games in the series. The Over is 2-1 in three meetings this season, but the Under cashed in a 2-1 overtime win by Minnesota in St. Paul on March 21, and the Under is 5-2 in the past seven installments.

With so much on the line, we'll definitely go low on the total here. Let's also stick with the home team trend.

Stars ML (-125 at Bet365, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel Sportsbooks)
Under 6.5 Goals (-130 at Fanatics Sportsbook)

Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.

Nashville Predators at Utah Mammoth

The Predators (37-31-10) and Mammoth (41-30-6) meet at Delta Center in Salt Lake City at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

These two teams currently occupy the two wild-card spots in the Western Conference, with the Mammoth totaling 88 points, four points clear of the Predators. Nashville has played 78 games, and it has one more point than than the Los Angeles Kings, who have a game in hand. The San Jose Sharks are also in the mix with 81 points through 77 games, and the Winnipeg Jets have 80 points, also through 77 games. Nothing is quite determined yet, but a victory in Salt Lake City would be giant for the Predators.

The Predators have managed a 17-16-7 record on the road, while the Mammoth have a 20-14-3 record at home. Utah has won four in a row and has a plus-31 goal differential, fourth-best in the Western Conference. Utah is playing good hockey down the stretch and building momentum toward the postseason.

Juuse Saros (28-20-8, 3.11 GAA, .894 SV%) will start for the Predators, while Karel Vejmelka (36-18-3, 2.76 GAA, .895 SV%, 2 SO) will get the nod in the other crease. Vejmelka was pounded for five goals on 26 shots despite a 6-5 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. His play lately has been a bit erratic.

Utah's offense is strong, but the defense and goaltending, especially with Vejmelka, have been a bit shaky. Let's side with Nashville lightly, while going Under.

Predators ML (+140 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars and Fanatics Sportsbooks)
Under 6.5 Goals (-130 at DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel Sportsbooks)

San Jose Sharks at Anaheim Ducks

The Sharks (37-33-7) and Ducks (41-32-5) meet at Honda Center in Anaheim at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.

All three games this season, and four consecutive matchups in the series, have been decided by a single goal. That includes a 4-3 win by the Sharks in San Jose on April 1, and 5-4 in Anaheim on Dec. 29 as a moderate underdog (+140). The Over has cashed in four straight meetings in this series.

The Ducks were sitting atop the Pacific Division as recently as last week, but they've tumbled down the standings due to a six-game losing streak (0-5-1). The defense and goaltending for Anaheim have struggled recently, allowing four or more goals in each of the losses, giving up an average of 4.8 goals per game (GPG). The Over is 4-1 in the past five games as well. Based on that, and the recent Over results in the series, go high, and go rather aggressive on the total.

Let's also side with the Sharks on the puck line, if you're a bit conservative. The past four meetings have been decided by a single goal. If you're a bit more aggressive, take San Jose straight up.