Best NHL Bets Today: Expert Picks for Wednesday, April 2

Written by

Daniel Dobish

Updated on April 2, 2025 8:35PM EST

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The National Hockey League has a total of five games on the slate for Wednesday night. That includes Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals taking on the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh at 7 p.m. in the front end of the TNT/truTV/Max national doubleheader. The Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks meet at 9:30 p.m. ET in the second end of the double dip. We'll switch gears, though, and focus on a couple of ESPN+ contests. Let's get started.

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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Wednesday, April 2

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.

Minnesota Wild at New York Rangers

The Wild (41-28-6) and the Rangers (35-32-7) meet at Madison Square Garden at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Minnesota makes the second stop in a three-game New York Metro area road trip. The Wild suffered a 3-2 shootout loss against the New Jersey Devils Monday as slight underdog (+125) as the total pushed at most shops.

For the Wild, Vinnie Hinostroza and Matt Boldy notched even-strength goals in the third period, while Marcus Foligno, Jon Merrill and Jake Middleton each grabbed helpers. Filip Gustavsson allowed two goals on 28 shots in the SOL.

The Blueshirts are not quite eliminated from the postseason chase despite a nightmare season. The Montreal Canadiens occupy the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 79 points, two points ahead of the Rangers. New York is also tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets with 77 points, while it is one point ahead of the New York Islanders. It's a logjam in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.

These teams just met in the Twin Cities on March 13, with the Rangers (-115) earning a 3-2 win in overtime. It was a seesaw affair. After a scoreless first period, Vincent Trocheck opened the scoring at 6:45 of the second period. In the third, Marcus Johansson had a power-play goal to tie it, but Jonny Brodzinski put the Rangers back up less than three minutes later. Frederick Gaudreau had a PPG at 8:42 of the third to tie it 2-2. In overtime, Braden Schneider won it, with helpers to Artemi Panarin and J.T. Miller.

Panarin has been on fire lately, notching 10 goals and 20 points with a plus-8 rating and three power-play points in the past 15 outings. Adam Fox has four goals and seven points with a plus-4 rating in the past five games, too.

Igor Shesterkin stopped two goals on 28 shots in the victory over the Wild, with Gustavsson yielding three goals on 31 shots.

The Rangers have won four of the past five meetings in this series, with three of the games going to either overtime or a shootout. New York has won three of the past four meetings at MSG, and they're a strong play on home ice against a team it just beat three weeks ago in their barn.

Rangers ML (-155 at ESPN Bet Sportsbook)
Under 5.5 Goals (-114 at Fanatics Sportsbook)

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

Seattle Kraken at Vancouver Canucks

The Kraken (31-38-6) and the Canucks (34-27-13) meet at Rogers Arena in Vancouver at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Seattle, already eliminated from the postseason chase, is just 14-21-1 on the road this season. It is just 1-4-1 in the past six games, scoring one or no goals in three of the outings in the six-game span.

Vancouver is seven points back of the Minnesota Wild for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, with a game in hand. The Canucks are also a point back of the Calgary Flames, while they're one point ahead of the Utah Hockey Club. So, this is a hugely important game for the home side.

Seattle has won two of the three meetings this season, including a 5-4 win in overtime on Dec. 28 as short 'dogs (+110). Two of the three games have not only been one-goal games, but they've ended in either overtime or a shootout. The Canucks won 4-3 in a shootout at Seattle on Jan. 2.

Vancouver wrapped up a six-game road trip Sunday in Winnipeg, going 2-2-2 on the journey. It has won two of the past three games at home. The Over is 6-1 in the past seven games, and 9-2 across the previous 11 outings. The Over is 3-1-1 in the past five games for the Kraken, too. We'll definitely side with the Over, as far as the total is concerned.

While the Kraken are out of the playoffs, there is no quite in Jaden Schwartz. He has four goals and six points in the past six outings. For the Canucks, it's been a long-term hot streak for Quinn Hughes, as he has 19 goals and 51 points, including 18 power-play points in the past 41 games, so he's a strong play if you're kicking the tires on an Anytime Goal Scorer prop.

Let's back the Canucks on the moneyline as moderate favorites, too.