Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, March 26

Clash of NHL playoff hopefuls! Sharks vs Blues & Oilers vs Golden Knights: big stakes, expert picks & under/ML insights—bet smart now.

Updated on March 26, 2026 4:33PM EST

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Thursday, March 26

By:

Daniel Dobish

Updated on March 26, 2026 4:33PM EST

NHL Picks

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NHL Best Bets & Picks: Sharks vs Blues & Oilers vs Golden Knights – Expert Game Previews

The National Hockey League (NHL) has a total of 13 games on the slate for Thursday, including an ESPN doubleheader with the Minnesota Wild and Florida Panthers tangling at 7 p.m. ET, while the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights meet at 9:30 p.m. ET.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Thursday's MLB openers, NBA and/or NCAA Tournament college basketball 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.

San Jose Sharks at St. Louis Blues

The Sharks (32-31-6) and the Blues (29-30-11) meet in a Western Conference clash at Enterprise Center at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Neither of these teams is yet eliminated from the playoffs, but the clock is ticking, and it's deafening. San Jose is in a little better shape, sitting with 70 points, seven points out of the final wild-card spot with a game in hand on the Nashville Predators. But, we have the Los Angeles Kings (74 points), Seattle Kraken (72 points) and Winnipeg Jets (72 points) also in the mix.

For the Blues, they have 69 points, also with a game in hand, as they give chase with those other teams in the way, while the Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks (67 points) are also pursuers.

So, this is kinda like an elimination game for the Western Conference playoff picture, especially if it ends in regulation, with one of the teams getting a valuable two points, and the other coming up empty.

The Blues have won two of the first three meetings, including a 3-2 OTW in San Jose on March 6 as moderate underdogs (+125) as the Under (6.5) cashed. The Sharks won the first and only visit to St. Louis, 4-3, back on Dec. 12 as moderate underdogs (+145) as the Over (5.5) cashed that night.

While St. Louis has a slight 3-2 advantage in the past five meetings, all five games have been decided by a single goal, and four of those matchups have resulted in either overtime or a shootout. With so much on the line here, expect another very close game. And, if you're really adventurous, and it isn't a giant risk given the recent history, you can triple up playing YES (+300) - Will there be Overtime (FanDuel). Let's give it a shot.

We're also going with venue being important, taking the Blues to scratch out a win, while going low on the total, given the pressure to not make mistakes.

Blues ML (-135 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings and Hard Rock Sportsbooks)
Under 6.5 (-134 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Yes - Will There Be OT (+300 at FanDuel)

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Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights

The Oilers (35-28-9) and Golden Knights (32-26-14) meet at T-Mobile Arena at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, and this is a HUGE clash on The Strip.

These teams are chasing the first-place Anaheim Ducks (84 points), who also happen to have a game in hand. The Oilers (79 points) are in second place, and the Golden Knights (78 points) are in third in the Pacific Division. It's very possible that these teams meet in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, and this game could go a long way in determining home-ice advantage.

The Oilers have won each of the first two matchups, including a 4-2 win in the most recent meeting in Las Vegas on March 8, as the Under (7) cashed in a rare game with a flat seven total.

Of course, in that win, Leon Draisaitl had the game-winning goal at 11:53 of the third period, and he is now out for the season due to a lower-body injury.

Edmonton stunned Utah 5-2 last time out on Tuesday as the Over (6.5) cashed, but the Oilers are just 3-3-1 in the past seven games, with the Over going 3-1 in the previous four outings.

Vegas is struggling to light the lamp lately, going 1-4-0 in the past five games, 3-7-0 in the past 10 outings, and 4-10-0 across the past 14 contests. It has frittered away a division lead and picked up just eight out of a possible 28 points since Feb. 27.

VGK has one or no goals in four of the past five games, too, getting shut out twice in the span since St. Patrick's Day, cashing the Under in six in a row. The Under is also 8-1-1 in the past 10 games, and 11-2-1 across the past 14 outings.

We have to go with Edmonton as the underdogs, as Vegas can't put pucks in the net. As such, we'll also go low on the total.