NHL Picks: Hockey Best Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for April 13

There are only two days left in the NHL regular season. Today sees 15 games on the slate with most of the teams winding down for the year. Despite this being the final day of play for many, there is still a lot of playoff jockeying being done. In the West, Dallas/Colorado and Vegas/Edmonton are in battles for first place in their division. Out East, the Panthers also still have something to play for today as a win would allow them to jump ahead of the Islanders for seventh place and thereby avoid the Bruins in the first round. Many teams that are out of it will also be playing backup goalies and potentially resting some of their star players, so make sure you check lines and roster updates as the day goes on.

Panthers Moneyline -120

The Panthers are in the playoffs but can still vastly improve their chances today with a win. As it stands, Florida would face Boston in the first round, but a win today would see Florida vault over the Islanders in the standings and instead face the Hurricanes or Devils. Given how good the Bruins are, the urgency today will be massive for the Panthers. The Hurricanes have something to play for themselves — with the Devils still able to leapfrog them to win the division — but do enter this game in a bit of a slump, having dropped three of their last four games. Offensively, it’s been a struggle for Carolina without Andrei Svenchnikov as they have scored just nine goals over their past four games. With Florida having a 5-1 record against Carolina over the last six games in this series — and with the Panthers also being a very dominant home team (23-12 straight up on the season) — siding with the surging Panthers today at a solid -120 on the moneyline makes sense.

Avalanche to win in regulation -125

It seems improbable given where they stood in the standings at the middle of the season, but the Avalanche can close out another Central Division title if they win their last two games. Today they face the Jets, who are fresh off securing a playoff spot in their last game. It’s been a wild stretch for the Jets, who were in a playoff dogfight with Calgary and Nashville for the last month of the season. Winnipeg has nothing to play for today and seems very likely to start a backup goalie, giving Colorado an even bigger edge than they already have. It’s also possible that we see the Jets rest some of their star players, although nothing official has been announced. Either way, this sets up as a layup spot for the Avalanche who have only lost once over their last six games — a 2-1 OT loss to the lava-hot Oilers. Looking to the -1.5 puck line today on Colorado at +140 is fine, but the regulation line at -125 also looks very strong. The Avalanche should roll and set themselves up to potentially clinch the division tomorrow with a win against the now-eliminated Predators

Over 6.5 goals (-115)

These two teams have been out of the playoff running for a while. The Canucks will end the season having the worst penalty-kill in the league, but are also averaging a respectable 3.27 goals per game on offense. Vancouver also has an above-average power play and will be going up against a Coyotes team that is terrible on special teams and ranks out with the sixth-worst penalty kill. Both of these teams rank bottom 10 in high-danger scoring chances allowed on the year and have been absolute over magnets in the total department. Vancouver has a 27-13 overall record to the over in away games on the season while Arizona is also a steady 22-17-1 to the over at home. Expect little offense and lots of chances for both sides as these teams see their seasons close. The over at 6.5 goals looks promising to say the least.

Buying into a little bit of player prop narrative today isn’t a bad idea. Tim Stutzle has enjoyed a massive breakout season and comes into this game having recorded 38 goals and 88 points this year in 77 games. Two goals tonight would see the German stud reach both the 40-goal mark and the 90-point barrier and it’s a reasonable assumption that his teammates would like to facilitate Stutzle reaching those milestones. The opponent is perfect for a banger game from Stutzle as well as the Sabres allowed the eighth-most shots against this season and have the fifth-worst penalty kill in the league. They’ve also allowed six or more goals in two of their last four games. In what should be a pond hockey exhibition-style game, targeting Stutzle for a goal makes plenty of sense. You could also target him for the first or last goal of the night at +1100 if you wanted to up your risk and payout.

All odds are provided by DraftKings Sportsbookand all odds are subject to change.

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is wavegoodbye) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.