Best NHL Bets: Stanley Cup Playoffs Picks for Wednesday, April 23

Written by

Daniel Dobish

Published on April 23, 2025

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The National Hockey League has three playoff games on the slate for Wednesday night, including Game 3 of the best-of-7 Western Conference first-round series between the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche. We'll try and cobble together some solid parlay opportunities to build that bankroll for the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Wednesday, April 23

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.

Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals

The Canadiens gave the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference all they could handle in Game 1, but the Capitals ended up getting the 3-2 win in overtime.

Alex Ovechkin scored his first-career playoff overtime goal at 2:26 of the extra session, as Capital One Arena erupted with joy. He had a power-play goal to open the scoring, while Anthony Beauvillier had a second-period goal to build a 2-0 lead. However, Cole Caufield struck on the man advantage midway through the third period, and Nick Suzuki stunned the home crowd with an even-strength goal at 15:45 to force OT. Lane Hutson had secondary assists on both goals, as he continues to rise.

Logan Thompson was able to stop 33 of the 35 shots he faced for the OTW, besting Sam Montembeault, who was good for 29 saves on 32 shots. Two of the goals the latter allowed were against the NHL's all-time goal scorer, so there isn't a lot of shame in that.

Heading into Game 2, Montreal likely wants to try and mark Ovechkin a little better. He was left wide open on the game-winning goal, and it was inexplicable defense.

It's rather juicy, but as long as you can keep the moneyline price at -180 or lower, that is a good value. Anything more, you might want to consider backing the Canadiens on the puck line, catching a goal and a half.

We'll stick with the Under, too, especially if you're able to get a flat 6. There are still a few shops that offer that if you shop around. You can always buy a half-goal or full goal on the alternate total, too.

Capitals ML (-175 at ESPN Bet Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-124 at Fanatics Sportsbook)

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

Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche

It's Game 3, and we have a pivotal battle on tap at Ball Arena in Denver.

Dallas was staring into a possible 0-2 series hole, down 3-2 after two periods. Nathan MacKinnon and Tyler Seguin had exchanged power-play goals in the first period, while Thomas Harley gave Dallas a brief 2-1 lead early in the second. The good feelings for the home fans didn't last long, as Jack Drury tied it, and Logan O'Connor put the Avs up 3-2 after 40.

In the third period, dependable playoff contributor Evgenii Dadonov notched the game-tying goal at 10:13 with a helper to Wyatt Johnston, and that's how things stood for a while. At 17:46 of the extra session, Colin Blackwell broke free and snapped one past a sprawling Mackenzie Blackwood to breathe life into the Stars.

For the Avs, O'Connor had the team's only two-point game with a goal and an assist, while Sam Steel had the only multi-point game for Dallas with a pair of apples.

Blackwood still was able to make 35 saves on 39 shots, while Jake Oettinger stopped 34 of the 37 shots he was tasked with.

Colorado was 26-12-3 at home during the regular season, while Dallas was just 22-16-3 on the road. However, backing the Avs straight up will set you back nearly two times your potential return, or even more in some cases. Let's play it safe and take Dallas on the puck line, while going Over yet again.

Stars +1.5 (-154 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Over 6.5 Goals (-102 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings

The opening game of this series was bananas. If the rest of the series is anything like that, we're in for a treat.

We knew Oilers-Kings was probably going to be a special series, but wow.

L.A. built a 4-0 lead after Andrei Kuzmenko had a goal on the man advantage to open the scoring. Quinton Byfield added an even-strength goal late in the first, while Adrian Kempe and Phillip Danault helped build that four-goal lead late into the second.

Leon Draisaitl connected for his first of the postseason with helpers to Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard, and that late goal in the second was important.

The Oilers fired out of the room for the third period, and Mattias Janmark struck for an even-strength goal, as Jeff Skinner celebrated his long-awaited return to the postseason with a secondary assist. Kevin Fiala squelched the celebration with a PPG to make it 5-2, but then things got crazy.

Corey Perry usually saves his best for the playoffs, and he cleaned up a rebound to make it 5-3. It looked like that's how things would finish, but Zach Hyman and McDavid had other ideas, scoring 36 seconds apart late in the third, apparently forcing overtime.

But, Hollywood script change, yet again, as Danault kinda whiffed on a shot, but he used Warren Foegele's leaping screen to completely handcuff Stuart Skinner at 19:18, avoiding OT, and splashing cold water on the Oilers, who looked to have forced the extra session. He allowed six goals on 30 shots, while Darcy Kuemper allowed five goals on just 25 shots, including the two late markers.

What a wild finish, and it really makes us look forward to Game 2. Let's back the Oilers to get the job done. They've won three straight playoff series in the past three seasons against the Kings, and they're the defending Western Conference champs. And, we'll definitely go Over based on the silly offense we saw in the series opener, although things shouldn't be as crazy. We definitely aren't likely to see a six-goal third period again, right?