Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Wednesday, April 16

Written by

Daniel Dobish

Published on April 16, 2025

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The National Hockey League has a total of six games on the schedule for Wednesday night, including a nationally televised doubleheader. The Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils square off at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT/truTV/Max, while the Vegas Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks meet at 10 p.m. ET in the second end. Unfortunately, none of the games will impact the playoff standings or seeding. We'll try to build a 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
Wednesday, April 16

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.

Carolina Hurricanes at Montreal Canadiens

The Hurricanes (47-28-5) meet the Canadiens (39-31-11) at Bell Centre in Montreal on Wednesday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

The Canadiens are not quite in just yet. Montreal is in the driver's seat for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, two points clear of the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, the Habs need at least one more point. If Montreal loses in regulation to Carolina, the Blue Jackets can steal the final spot in the playoffs with a win in regulation on Thursday in Columbus against the New York Islanders. So, this game is hugely important to Montreal.

For the Hurricanes, they're locked into the second-place spot in the Metropolitan Division, and they'll have home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs against the New Jersey Devils. The current way of seeding for the postseason in the NHL has made a lot of games in the final week essentially meaningless.

Wednesday's game is important for Carolina in the sense that it needs to gain some momentum and confidence, especially on the road. The Canes have been stumbling down the stretch, going 1-4-1 in the past six games, basically locked into the second-place spot with no hunger, and no incentive to bust hump. Win or lose, their place was determined.

Carolina is just 16-19-4 on the road, though, and it needs to prove it can win on the road, if it hopes to finally make a deep run in the playoffs. The Hurricanes have been good in recent years, but not great, struggling to win meaningful games on the road. While this result changes nothing for them, it would be huge to enter the playoffs on a higher note.

Montreal blanked Carolina 4-0 in the most recent meeting in this building Feb. 25, though, as Sam Montembeault was electric in net. He kicked aside all 20 shots he faced while Patrik Laine and Nick Suzuki notched one goal and two assists apiece.

While the Hurricanes could use a good win, the hunger and intensity just haven't been there. For the Canadiens, this is a must-win game, or at least a game that needs to force overtime or a shootout. They need to play hard, play close and treat it like a playoff game. Pressure has been getting to them a bit lately, as they're 0-1-2 in the past three games, totalling just five goals. Monteambeault, especially, has been under pressure, with Montreal allowing nine goals in his past two starts.

Still, we'll side with Montreal on the moneyline in a must-win game, and we'll go Under on the total, especially if you can get a flat six. If you're even more conservative, bumping up to the alternate line, going Under 6.5 goals at Bet365, BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars or Fanatics won't cost you that much more.

Canadiens ML (+100 at Bet365 Sportsbook)
Under 6 Goals (-115 at Bet365 Sportsbook)

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

Vegas Golden Knights at Vancouver Canucks

The Golden Knights (49-22-10) and the Canucks (38-29-14) meet at Rogers Arena in Vancouver at 10 p.m. ET in what is, essentially, a meaningless game at 10 p.m. ET on the national broadcast. Unfortunately, all of the other games are meaningless, too, in terms of betting.

Vegas wrapped up the Pacific Division title in a wild 5-4 shootout loss in Calgary Tuesday night. VGK had a 3-1 lead heading into the third period, and I was personally feeling pretty good with my moneyline play. But the Flames scored two goals in the first 64 seconds of the third to tie it up, then a seesaw battle ensued.

Pavel Dorofeyev, Nicolas Roy, Tomas Hertl and Brandon Saad scored even-strength goals, but Ilya Samsonov folded like a tent in the third period and into the shootout. Still, VGK needed just the one point, and it ended up clinching the division, making this game meaningless for their division title pursuit.

On the flip side, the Vancouver Canucks are in the loser's lounge, eliminated from postseason contention, so this one is simply for the fans.

Vancouver is 17-15-8 at home, and their struggles at Rogers are a major reason they're not going to the playoffs. VGK is 20-13-7 on the road, but it likely will power down after playing on the road in Calgary, going extra, while traveling and playing on no rest.

For Vegas, Jack Eichel didn't play in Calgary due to an upper-body injury, and there is little reason to believe he'll play in Vancouver with nothing to gain. Noah Hanifin and Mark Stone were each rested, too, so it remains to be seen if they'll play. Alex Pietrangelo also sat due to an undisclosed ailment, and he has been limited to just three games in the past 10 outings, missing each of the past four contests.

Let's back the Canucks to finish up on a high note, and we'll go low on the total, as the Golden Knights should have some heavy legs after going overtime in Calgary, celebrating a division title, then playing on no rest.