NHL Parlay Picks for Thursday, April 18

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Published on April 18, 2024

NHL Bets Tonight: Expert Hockey Parlay Picks for
Thursday, April 18

There are six games on the National Hockey League schedule for Thursday, the final day of the regular season. Two games are nationally televised on ESPN, with the Kraken and Wild meeting at 7 p.m. ET, and the Oilers and Avalanche battling at 9:30 p.m. ET. The two late-night games have the biggest playoff implications, though. Let's get started!

Best NHL Picks Tonight

San Jose Sharks at Calgary Flames

The Sharks (19-53-9) and Flames (37-39-5) have both long-since been eliminated from the postseason chase. They wrap up their regular seasons at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday evening.

San Jose has been a bit of a thorn in the side of Calgary this season. The Sharks doubled up the Flames 6-3 on Feb. 15 in the first meeting, winning outright as a major underdog (+270) as the Over (6) cashed. The Flames edged the Sharks 3-2 in the Bay Area on April 9, less than 10 days ago, but the game was decided in overtime. San Jose has covered the puck line as an underdog in both meetings to date, and we'll look for them to do so again on Thursday.

In addition, we get a matchup of Devin Cooley (2-2-1, 4.37 GAA, .882 SV%) and Dustin Wolf (6-7-1, 3.30 GAA, .891 SV%) in between the pipes. The best bet might be to go Over in this season finale.

Sharks PL (+1.5, -110 Fan Duel)
Over 6.5 (-110) at DraftKings)

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Anaheim Ducks at Vegas Golden Knights

The Ducks (26-50-5) travel to meet the Golden Knights (45-28-8) as Anaheim wraps up its season. VGK, the defending champs, will hope it's just getting started.

Anaheim has won both of its previous two meetings against Vegas this season, posting a 5-2 victory Dec. 27 in Southern California and a 4-2 win Nov. 5. The Golden Knights won 4-1 on home ice back on Oct. 14, and VGK has won five in a row against Anaheim at home while winning each of the past four outings by at least two goals with an average margin of victory of 4.0 goals per game (GPG) in the past three at The Fortress.

Vegas is still jockeying with Los Angeles for postseason seeding, so the Golden Knights need a win or an overtime loss to secure the third spot in the Pacific Division to avoid a wild-card spot and a meeting with the Stars.

Golden Knights PL (-1.5, -145 at BetMGM)

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Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings

The Blackhawks (23-53-5) have been hot garbage lately. They face the Kings (43-27-11), who still can get to the third seed with a little help from their SoCal rivals, the Anaheim Ducks.

If Anaheim can beat Vegas, the Kings have a path to the third seed in the Pacific Division, so seeding can still change for LA.

The Kings have outscored the Blackhawks 11-2 in the two previous meetings this season, and Chicago has cobbled together just six goals of offense in the past five games (1.2 GPG), all losses. One team is playing well, and one team can't wait to get to the finish line.