Best NHL Bets: Stanley Cup Playoffs Picks for Thursday, April 24

Written by

Daniel Dobish

Published on April 24, 2025

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The National Hockey League has a total of four playoff contests on the schedule for Thursday. We have a pair of Eastern Conference battles in the early window, with a pair of Western Conference showdowns in the late window. We'll try and put together a few 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
Thursday, April 24

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.

Eastern Conference Showdowns: Panthers vs. Lightning Analysis

The defending Stanley Cup champions were just 20-19-2 on the road during the regular season, but in these playoffs, they're a perfect 1-for-1.

In Game 1, Florida showed its championship mettle with a 6-2 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena. The Lightning finished second in the Atlantic Division in the regular season, earning home-ice advantage in the first round. After one game, the Panthers have gained control of that home-ice advantage and are looking to put the Lightning into a tenuous 0-2 series hole before things shift south to Sunrise for Games 3 and 4.

The Panthers welcomed Matthew Tkachuk back from injured reserve. He had been sidelined for 25 games since sustaining a groin injury during the 4 Nations Tournament for Team USA. Tkachuk quickly made up for lost time, scoring two goals while adding an assist in the win. Sam Reinhart was also a multi-point producer, going for a goal and an assist, while Aleksander Barkov posted a pair of helpers. In addition, the latter had two blocked shots, three hits and he was 14-of-18 at the faceoff dot, good for a 77.8 percent win rate.

Lightning tendy Andrei Vasilevskiy posted a career-best 2.18 GAA in the regular season, but he was snowed under by a tenacious Panthers attack. Florida beat him six times on just 17 shots, and the Panthers were perfect 3-for-3 on the power play.

Nikita Kucherov had an assist for the home side, while Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point were the goal scorers, but Tampa will need more against Sergei Bobrovsky and company. The latter was tasked with 20 saves on 22 shots in another playoff win.

The Lightning should be able to bounce back. It was 29-8-4 at home in the regular season, and they're a good play on home ice, trying to gain the split and stay in this series. We'll side with the Under, too, as Bob and Vassy are each battle-tested goaltenders in the postseason.

Lightning ML (-118 at Fanatics Sportsbook)
Under 5.5 Goals (-102 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

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

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators: Battle of Ontario Insights

The Maple Leafs and Senators shift the Battle of Ontario to Canada's capital city for Game 3.

Toronto routed Ottawa 6-2 in Game 1, as the big offensive weapons each made their presence felt. Mitch Marner had a goal and three points, Auston Matthews had a pair of helpers, William Nylander had a goal and an apple, while John Tavares was good for a goal and a helper, too, while winning 13 of his 21 faceoff attempts. Meanwhile, Anthony Stolarz made 31 saves on 33 shots.

In Game 2, the Maple Leafs weren't nearly as effective offensively. Toronto fired out to a 2-0 lead, but Ottawa received a power-play goal late in the second period by Brady Tkachuk to halve the lead, while Adam Gaudette posted the game-tying goal late in the third period to force overtime.

Linus Ullmark was a little better in Game 2, stopping 18 of 21 shots, but he was beaten early in overtime by Max Domi, as the Senators slipped into a 0-2 series hole heading back to Ottawa.

Toronto was one of the better road teams in the NHL, going 25-13-3 away from home in the regular season, but it has lost its past two games in Ottawa. The Senators were close to stealing one in Game 2, and they should be desperate in Game 3, feeding off the home crowd's energy to get the job done. We'll go high on the total, too.

Senators ML (-110 at Bet365 Sportsbook)
Over 5.5 Goals (-118 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

Western Conference Matchup: Golden Knights vs. Wild Betting Preview

The Golden Knights doubled up the Wild 4-2 in Game 1, although that was the game with the bad beat. Remember, Brett Howden was credited with an empty-net goal with 0.1 seconds left, flipping the result of the puck line to Vegas, as well as Under (5.5) to an undeserved Over.

In Game 2, Minnesota started quickly. Matt Boldy scored his third goal of the series at 9:56 in the first period, and, at the time, he scored all three of Minnesota's goals in the series. Marcus Foligno and Mats Zuccarello added first-period goals to make it 3-0 heading to the room. Kirill Kaprizov made it 4-0, with a helper to Boldy, before VGK finally got on the board with an unassisted goal to Noah Hanifin.

Tomas Hertl made things interesting with an even-strength goal at 2:26 of the third period, but that's all Filip Gustavsson would allow. He made 30 saves on 32 shots in Game 2, while Adin Hill was dinged for four goals on 16 shots in the loss.

The series shifts to the Twin Cities, where the Wild was actually just 22-17-2. Minnesota was a much better team on the road, going 24-14-5.

The Wild snapped a six-game losing streak in this series dating back to its last win against the Golden Knights Feb. 12, 204. Minnesota has lost five in a row on home ice to VGK, with its last win 3-0 on March 21, 2022.

We'll roll with the road team to grab home-ice advantage back from the Wild, and let's side with the Over.

Golden Knights ML (-145 at Caesars Sportsbook)
Over 5.5 Goals (-115 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

Winnipeg Jets Aim for Commanding Lead Against St. Louis Blues

The Jets aren't hearing any of that Presidents' Trophy jinx nonsense. Yes, the Presidents' Trophy winner hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 2014 when the Chicago Blackhawks did it. The top regular-season point producer has routinely seen an early exit in the playoffs over the past decade. Winnipeg has other ideas.

It won 5-3 in Game 1, while Connor Hellebuyck was a little shaky. In Game 2, the Vezina Trophy candidate helped the Jets to a 2-1 win as heavy favorites (-190) as the Under (5) cashed.

That's four straight wins in this series for the Jets, and they've won eight of the previous nine meetings against the Blues since Oct. 24, 2023. Winnipeg has won three straight trips to St. Louis, too, including a 4-3 shootout win Feb. 22.

Let's back Hellebuyck and the Jets to get the job done, putting the Blues into a deep 0-3 series hole. We'll side with the Under, too. Hellebuyck was much better in Game 2, and the Blues should be a lot more careful, as they won't want to take chances, allowing the Jets odd-man rushes the other way.