This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
NHL Playoffs Best Bets for Monday, April 17
The NHL playoffs officially start today and boy I'm pumped. I know the NBA playoffs are happening too, but let's be real, hockey players are tougher, cooler, and more passionate. They're not a bunch of prima donnas that will cry if their wrist gets slapped on the way up for a shot. Hockey players will take a puck to the face and not miss a shift, play through broken ribs, fight through cracked bones, and shrug off tendon tears. All because it's the Cup. There's nothing like playoff hockey. As we embark on this postseason journey, here are the best NHL bets for tonight!
If you're looking for NHL futures analysis, check out our Stanley Cup Playoffs betting roundtable with everything from cup picks to Eastern Conference Winners and Western Conference Winners along with Conn Smythe picks.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Check out DraftKings using the DraftKings promo code to get $150 in bonus bets instantly. Be sure to look at all the NHL betting promos during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and if you're signing up using a credit card, you can find qualifying sportsbooks using our list of credit card betting sites.
Stanley Cup Playoffs Best Bets Tonight
Islanders 
vs Hurricanes 
Not gonna lie, this may be the hardest series to predict from my POV. On paper, the Canes should absolutely smoke the Isles. Rod The Bod's team was one of the league's best all year, has been to the playoffs for several seasons in a row, and plays an aggressive style that translates to postseason success. Yet they sort of limped into the playoffs - and finished second overall in the league standings - with just a 13-9-1 record after losing Andrei Svechnikov to a season-ending knee injury. The Islanders sort of snuck into the postseason, but now that they're here, they can give the Canes some problems because of their own tight defensive style and their world-class goaltender Ilya Sorokin. I think this will be a longer series than Carolina hopes, but I also think the Storm Surge effect in Raleigh comes out guns blazing for Game 1. Antti Raanta will be in net for the Hurricanes and he is 11-0-1 in his last 12 home starts.
- Hurricanes ML -170
Panthers 
vs Bruins 
The Panthers have played as well against the Bruins as any other team this season, responsible for two of their 17 losses (one in regulation, one in overtime). Both of those wins came on home ice in Sunrise though, and the Bruins are a different animal at home where they only lost 7 total times with 4 regulation losses all season. Everyone is talking about the Presidents' Trophy curse and how no winner of that prize has won the Cup since the '13 Blackhawks, and about how the Bruins will face some adversity if they have any hopes of breaking that curse. But that doesn't start tonight. Bruins big.
- Bruins PL +120
B's fans in Massachusetts can get in on the Stanley Cup betting action at BetMGM with the BetMGM Massachusetts Bonus Code for a first bet bonus worth up to $1,000.
Wild 
vs Stars
The last time Jake Oettinger played in the playoffs, he made 64 saves in a Game 7 overtime loss to the Flames last year. He's also a Minnesota kid about to play his home state's team. The Stars are also the former Minnesota North Stars of the old days before the franchise moved to Dallas, so this is a deeply rooted rivalry. The Wild will play the Stars tight throughout this series, but home-ice advantage is going to be huge. Tonight's tilt is in Dallas. Give me the home team!
- Stars ML -145
Kings 
vs Oilers
These Pacific Division rivals have played each other 14 times since February 15, 2022, including a 7-game series in last year's First Round of the playoffs. And while the Oilers have won 9 of those 14, the Kings pushed them to the brink in the postseason and Connor McDavid had to will his team to victory from down 3-2 in the series. They split the regular season series this year too, so it's all but guaranteed that this will be a tough, tightly contested contest throughout the First Round. The Oilers ended the regular season on an absolute tear, with 9 wins in a row and a 14-1 record in their final 15 games. 2 of those wins came over these Kings, with a 2-0 tally in Edmonton and a 3-1 result in LA. The Kings will win at some point in this series, but I don't think it's tonight in Edmonton. So the question is, will they keep it close?
- Oilers PL +140
