Best NHL Picks Today

Hockey is a hard sport to predict. A goalie gets hot, a puck takes a strange bounce off a skate, and the team that controlled the matchup for most of the night loses anyway. That's why our NHL predictions aren't one person's hunches. Every day we track the picks of more than 100 paid handicapping services, and an NHL game only makes this page when enough of them are on the same side.

What earns a hockey pick its stars

Agreement gets a pick onto the list. How much agreement there is, and how one-sided it is, decides the rating. A side backed by a big group of experts with almost nobody on the other team rates higher than one where the room is close to split. The five ratings, top to bottom, are LOCK, Platinum, Diamond, Gold and Silver.

Every pick also shows how many experts are for it and how many are against. We'd read that count before the stars. Two Gold picks can look alike until you see that one of them had a fair number of services taking the other team.

The track record for our star-rated picks sits at the top of the page, and you can break it down by rating. Hockey has bad nights. You'll find those in the record too.

Most hockey picks are moneylines

The moneyline is the main bet in hockey, so it's what most of the NHL picks here are. You're backing the team you think will win, and the price on our board, pulled from major sportsbooks, tells you the payout. A favorite costs more than it pays; an underdog pays more than it costs.

Some picks are on the puck line instead. That's hockey's spread, nearly always 1.5 goals. A favorite at -1.5 has to win by two or more, which is why that side often pays plus money even for a strong team. Then there are totals, where the pick is over or under the number of goals both teams score together. Each pick says which bet it is. An expert who likes a favorite on the moneyline hasn't said it'll win by two, so don't move a pick to the puck line and assume it carries the same backing.

The free pick of the day, and Full Access

The top NHL pick is open to everyone, labeled "Free pick of the day." When that game drops the puck, the next pick on the list opens. On a night with games starting at different times, there's often a later free pick worth checking back for.

The other sides, and the names of the experts behind each pick, are for members with Full Access to every NHL pick. Full Access also raises the moneyline limit on our board from -300 to -1000, and every $100.00 of Free balance converts to $2.00 of Paid balance for members instead of $1.00.

Bet today's NHL best bets without a deposit

New players get a Free Bet Balance. Take a pick over to our NHL odds board and bet it on the full game, or go with the 1st Period line if you only want the first twenty minutes. Parlays work as well, if you're fine with every leg having to win. Free bets aren't real money, and when your balance runs out and the bets are graded, it refills.

The real cash is in our contests. The Streak Contest and the Monthly Contest leaderboard both pay cash prizes by PayPal.

NHL expert picks next to the consensus

The NHL consensus picks are free and show the share of picks and money on each side of every game. The streak crowd shows which side our own streak players are on, and "Public vs streak players" when the betting public and our players disagree. When the experts and the public are on opposite teams, we'd spend an extra minute on that game before betting it.

You must be 21+ to play. If gambling stops being fun, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Questions and answers