For the second time in the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season, we had all 32 teams in action on a single night, only to be followed up with a standalone game. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets will face off the only game on the NHL schedule Wednesday, with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. The game can be viewed or streamed on NHL Network.
We'll take a look at some same-game parlay (SGP) possibilities, and we'll also kick the tires on some prop plays to make things a little more interesting. Let's get started.
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Best NHL Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for
Wednesday, October 29
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Key NHL Betting Trends and Matchups Analysis
Toronto Maple Leafs 
at Columbus Blue Jackets 
The Maple Leafs (5-4-1) and Blue Jackets (5-4-0) meet at Nationwide Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday night, and the standalone game of the night is on NHL Network.
Toronto picked up a 4-3 victory Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena as a moderate favorite (-170) as the Over (6) cashed. The Leafs have won consecutive games for just the second time this season, and Toronto has yet to win three in a row at any point.
In Tuesday's victory, the Leafs slipped behind 1-0, and then 2-1, but Max Domi and Matthew Knies provided all the offense the home side would need, netting two goals apiece in the home win. Domi's game-winning goal came at 17:56 of the third period with assists to John Tavares and Knies on the winner. Knies ended up with the three points, and one of his goals was on the power play.
That was just enough offense for Anthony Stolarz, who allowed three goals on 29 shots in the win. However, with the back-to-back situation, Cayden Primeau (2-0-0, 3.46 GAA, .875 SV%) is expected to get the starting nod. Primeau allowed three goals on 26 shots in a 4-3 overtime win Saturday against the visiting Sabres. He has allowed seven goals in two starts, but he has a pair of wins thanks to 11 goals of offensive support.
Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.
The Blue Jackets were able to eke out a 4-3 overtime win over the Sabres in KeyBank Arena on Tuesday night before hopping a 757 charter, arriving back at midnight ET at John Glenn International Airport in Columbus.
Miles Wood was the star for the Blue Jackets, as he returned from a five-game absence after getting struck in the left eye by an errant stick in a game Oct. 13 against the Devils. Wood made up for lost time, lighting the lamp twice while finishing with a plus-3 rating. He had the overtime winner at 2:53 of the extra session with helpers to Zach Werenski and Isac Lundestrom.
Like Toronto, Columbus has yet to taste victory in three consecutive games, and the Blue Jackets won consecutive games just two times this season. They have played great lately, though, going for four wins in the past five matchups, with Jet Greaves backstopping that overtime win in Buffalo. With the back-to-back, Elvis Merzlikins (3-1-0, 2.96 GAA, .914 SV%) is projected to make the start.
The Blue Jackets won two of the three games last season, including a 6-2 win as moderate underdogs (+165) Oct. 22, 2024 in the only meeting in Columbus. The Jackets have won three of the past four in the series.
With the disparity in goaltending, we'll back Merzlikins and the Blue Jackets, but let's go high on the total based on the trends for both sides. The Over is 5-0 in the past five games for the Leafs.
As mentioned, we'll also take a look at some of the player props. This cannot be stressed enough, but we'll play William Nylander to notch at least one point. He has two goals and 11 points in the past six games. However, it is expensive (-265 at FanDuel Sportsbook). Never make a wager with so much risk, and so little return, straight up. However, tucking it into a multi-leg parlay is perfectly fine.
In addition, Tavares has four goals and eight points in the past five games, and we'll take him (-180) to get at least one point as well. I also wouldn't play that straight, at least without a boost or promo.
Additionally, if you want to get this SGP up to a 11x return, we can go back to our Stanley Cup crazy playoff prop strategy, backing several players to simply log at least one shot on goal (SOG). Playing five players -- Adam Fantilli and Boone Jenner (-1450), Bobby McMann (-1100), Knies (-1050), Dmitri Voronkov (-1000) and Sean Monahan (-900) gets you there, but again, never play these by themselves.
- Blue Jackets ML (-110 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Over 6.5 Goals (-114 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- William Nylander 1+ Point (-265 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- John Tavares 1+ Point (-180 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.
NHL Parlays Today
4-Leg NHL Super SGP Parlay (+533 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Blue Jackets ML (-110 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Over 6.5 Goals (-114 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- William Nylander 1+ Point (-265 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- John Tavares 1+ Point (-180 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
2-Leg NHL SGP Parlay (+240 at BetMGM)
- Blue Jackets ML and Over 6.5 Total Goals
10-Leg NHL CRAZY SGP Parlay (+1104 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Blue Jackets ML (-110 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Over 6.5 Goals (-114 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- William Nylander 1+ Point (-265 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- John Tavares 1+ Point (-180 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Players to get 1+ SOG -- Jenner, Fantilli (-1450), McMann (-1100), Knies (-1050), Voronkov (-1000), Monahan (-900)
