Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Saturday, April 12

Written by

Daniel Dobish

Published on April 12, 2025

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The National Hockey League heads into the final weekend of the regular season with 11 total games scheduled for Saturday, and we'll have nine more games Sunday. We'll learn quite a bit more about the playoff picture after the dust settles this weekend.

On Saturday, we're going to focus on the evening window of games, including the Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks meeting at 7 p.m. ET on NHL Network. We'll pick some games to build a parlay around, looking to build bankroll for the remainder of the regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Saturday, April 12

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 Toronto Maple Leafs

The Canadiens (39-31-9) and the Maple Leafs (48-26-4) meet at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and Hockey Night In Canada.

The Canadiens won 1-0 in the regular-season opener way back on Oct. 9, but the Leafs have won 4-1 on Nov. 9 in Toronto, and 7-3 in Montreal on Jan. 18. The Over cashed in that most recent meeting, but the Under is 4-1 in the past five in the series.

It's a tough turnaround for the Canadiens, who lost 5-2 in Ottawa. Sam Montembeault started that game, so Jakub Dobes might be tasked with starting in the second end of the back-to-back. Despite the loss and Over result, Montreal is still 6-1-0 in the past seven games, and the Under is 5-1 in the previous six outings. The Habs remain in firm control of the final wild-card spot with 87 points, sox points clear of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers with three to go.

The Maple Leafs have 100 points, two points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning, with four to play. They have a game in hand on Tampa, too, while the Florida Panthers have 96 points with three to go.

For player props, Habs C Nick Suzuki has been blazing hot lately, going for seven goals and 13 points with a plus-6 rating in the past seven. For the Leafs, RW Mitch Marner has four goals and 14 points in the past nine outings, including three power-play points.

After this game, we're going to know a lot. We might know the Atlantic Division champ, or we might see several wild-card pursuers eliminated, with the Canadiens officially getting in, depending upon the result.

We would be on Toronto straight up, but you must risk more than two times your potential return on the moneyline. Let's take the Canadiens as underdogs on the puck line instead, and we'll go low on the total in what should be a playoff-like atmosphere in T-Dot.

Canadiens +1.5 (-130 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Under 6.5 Goals (-130 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

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

Winnipeg Jets at Chicago Blackhawks

The Jets (54-21-4) and the Blackhawks (23-46-10) meet at United Center at 7 p.m. ET on NHL Network.

Winnipeg has 112 points, as it looks to secure the Presidents' Trophy. It leads the Washington Capitals (109) by three points, and the Dallas Stars (106) by six points. It went a long way toward wrapping up the Central Division title with an emphatic 4-0 win in Dallas Thursday behind Connor Hellebuyck.

In fact, the Jets had a little bit of a hiccup in late February and early March, but they're as dominant as ever lately, with sound wins over Vegas, St. Louis and Dallas in the recent week. Those are three teams all likely bound for the playoffs.

The Blackhawks are not a team headed for the playoffs anytime soon. They haven't waved the white flag, though, going 2-2-1 in the past five games. However, defense and goaltending are shaky, and Chicago has allowed at least three goals in 14 of the past 16 games.

Back the Jets on the puck line, but let's go Under, too. The alternate goal line is attractive, too, at Under 6.5, just in case the Winnipeg offense gets too frisky. The Jets have hit the Under in eight in a row, though, allowing one or no goals in five of the past seven outings.

Jets -1.5 (-104 at Fanatics Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-120 at Bet365 Sportsbook)

Minnesota Wild at Vancouver Canucks

The Wild (43-30-7) and the Canucks (37-29-13) meet at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Minnesota is going to be a tough out in the playoffs because it can win on the road. The Wild are 22-13-5 on the road this season, although they lost 3-1 in Vancouver in the most recent meeting March 7.

A lot has changed in a month, though, as the Canucks have since been eliminated from the postseason race.

The Wild are in one of the wild-card spots with 93 points and one regular-season game remaining. With a win, it can really firm up playoff plans. The St. Louis Blues (at Seattle on Sat.) also have 93 points and 80 games played. The Calgary Flames are sitting with 90 points with three games remaining, and they host the lowly San Jose Sharks Saturday. So, the Wild (or Blues) do not have a grasp of a wild-card spot yet. There will be a lot of scoreboard watching Saturday.

Based on Minnesota's strong work on the road, and the fact it needs this game, while Vancouver shouldn't be as energetic, we'll back the Wild. And, we'll side with the Over, which is an uncharacteristic 6-2-1 in the past nine games for Minnesota.