Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Wednesday, March 4

Expert NHL picks & bets for Islanders vs Ducks and Blues vs Kraken matchups—single plays, parlays, odds & promos to tip your Wednesday night slate!

March 4, 2026

Expert NHL Betting Picks Today: Wednesday, March 4

By:

Daniel Dobish

March 4, 2026

NHL Picks

NHL Best Bets & Picks: Islanders vs Ducks & Blues vs Kraken – Expert Game Previews

The National Hockey League (NHL) has just five games on the docket for Wednesday night, with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils available on hulu, as well as ESPN+, at 7 p.m. ET. The St. Louis Blues and Seattle Kraken also square off on ESPN+/hulu at 10 p.m. ET.

We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Wednesday's NBA and/or NCAA basketball action. Good luck with all of your plays! Let's get started.

Top up your bankroll thanks to sportsbook promos like this BetMGM bonus code offering $1,500 in bonus bets.

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.

New York Islanders at Anaheim Ducks

The Islanders (35-21-5) and the Ducks (33-24-3) meet in what is a marquee game, which might be a bit surprising to some. Puck drop at Honda Center is set for 10 p.m. ET, and this game is available for streaming on ESPN+.

If you told a casual fan that both the Islanders and Ducks would be in position for a postseason spot after roughly two-thirds of the regular season, that might have received a quizzical look. However, both of these teams are well on their way to a postseason berth. New York is 18-11-3 on the road, and Anaheim is 20-9-1 on 'The Pond' this season.

These teams met at UBS Arena on Dec. 11, and the Islanders dusted the Ducks 5-2 as slight favorites (-115) as the Over (6.5) cashed. The Islanders started quickly, as Travis Mitchell scored an even-strength goal to open the scoring, while Anders Lee supplied two power-play goals to make it 3-0 heading to the room after one period. Tony DeAngelo had a pair of power-play assists.

Leo Carlsson scored in the second, and Troy Terry had a shorthanded goal early in the third period, as Anaheim made things interesting, but Simon Holmstrom ended the threat with a goal at 6:06 of the third, and Ryan Pulock added an insurance marker at 14:46. Lee ended up with a four-point night, going for two goals and four points.

Ville Husso was the goaltender for the Ducks that game, and that could, again, be the case here. David Rittich started for the Islanders, stopping 31 of 33 shots in the victory. Husso (6-4-1, 3.07 GAA, .888 SV%) has been shaky when given the chance. Rittich is confirmed to go for the visitors.

Rittich has been rolling along, and the Islanders are playing with a ton of confidence lately, winning five in a row, including a 5-4 thriller against the Florida Panthers on Sunday night in a seesaw affair.

Let's go with the Islanders, and we'll go high on the total, based on the fact that the Over has cashed in three in a row for the Isles, and Husso has been very giving, too.

Islanders ML (-110 at Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings and Fanatics Sportsbooks)
Over 6.5 (-115 at Bet365, Caesars, DraftKings and Fanatics Sportsbooks)

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

St. Louis Blues at Seattle Kraken

The Blues (22-29-9) and Kraken (29-22-9) meet at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle at 10 p.m. ET, and this game is available on ESPN+.

Seattle heads into this game searching for some revenge after getting smoked 5-1 in St. Louis in the first game out of the Olympic break at Enterprise Center on Feb. 26.

In that 5-1 win, Dylan Holloway and Kaapo Kakko exchanged first-period goals, and it was fine for the Kraken. However, the dam broke in the second, as Jordan Kyrou scored what stood up as the game-winning goal, while Holloway was back for his second marker. In the third, Pius Suter scored, and Holloway deposited one into the empty net to make the hats fly in The Lou.

Joel Hofer was in net for the Blues, stopping 23 of 24 shots, while Philipp Grubauer conceded four goals on 31 shots.

In this one, though, Jordan Binnington (8-17-6, 3.60 GAA, .867 SV%, 1 SO) is likely to get a shot to work through his issues, although it wouldn't be shocking to see Hofer. Either way, the Kraken won 2-1 against the first-place Carolina Hurricanes last time out, and they've won five in a row on home ice. Seattle should be able to get the job done, as it exacts revenge in a big way. And, if it is, indeed, Binner against Grubauer in the crease, let's take the Over.