NHL Best Bets Tonight: Thursday Predictions & Expert Picks (April 25)
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Let's dive into Nick Martin's NHL best bets tonight with his top picks and predictions for Thursday, April 25.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue with two NHL games tonight. The action includes the Panthers vs. Lightning on TBS (7 p.m. ET) and Hurricanes vs. Islanders on ESPN2 (7:30 p.m. ET).
With just two NHL games on the docket, I'll take this as an opportunity to outline a futures bet on the upcoming IIHF World Championship.
Let's dig into the NHL odds and picks for Thursday.
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NHL Best Bets Tonight
The Lightning will return home to Amalie Arena in desperate need of a victory to avoid what would likely be an insurmountable 0-3 hole. They played to a 25-11-2 mark at home this season.
When I handed out the Panthers to cover -1.5 in the series spread on our Line Change podcast, one of the reasons I believed in the bet was because Florida could shut down Nikita Kucherov's line at even strength. That has been the case so far; Kucherov and Brayden Point have combined for only one point in 5-on-5 play.
Jon Cooper will now be afforded the luxury of having last change as the home coach, though, which should help him pick favorable spots for his best two players. And with the team essentially in do-or-die mode, look for their ice time to come in well past 20 minutes if this game is at all close.
Even while the Lightning were outplayed overall with Kucherov and Point on the ice in Games 1 and 2, Point still put up nine shot attempts and five on target. In Game 2, Point snapped a six-game streak of going Over 2.5 shots, but we should expect him to bounce back with a strong output of shots in tonight's matchup.
Point and Kucherov are proven playoff performers, and I'll bet that we see the highly talented duo leave a mark on this critical Game 3. My favorite way to target narrative is by backing Point to record Over 2.5 shots on goal at -135, and I would bet it down to -145.
The Pick: Brayden Point Over 2.5 Shots on Goal (-135 at DraftKings) | Play to -145
USA to Win IIHF World Championship
May 10-26, 2024 • Prague & Ostrava, Czechia
There's still a lot of dust left to settle in terms of who each country will have participating in the IIHF World Championship of Hockey. Commitments will be trickling in for the next several days, and then we will see a number of late adds from players whose teams suffered early playoff exits.
That might make the case that waiting to lock in any bets is a smart idea. In the case of the U.S. Men’s National Team, though, waiting is probably not such an overly sharp idea.
Team USA already has a tremendous list of players committed, and it's unlikely when the tournament kicks off on May 10 that its current betting price of +550 (DraftKings) will still exist. Other elite hockey nations are unlikely to garner enough talent that Team USA should be that long of a betting number.
Matt Boldy, Cole Caufield, Joel Farabee, Johnny Gaudreau, Shane Pinto, Brady Tkachuk, Trevor Zegras and Luke Kunin have already committed, and they make up what will be one of the best forward corps in the tournament.
Jake Sanderson, Seth Jones, Alex Vlasic, Zach Werenski and Luke Hughes have already committed on the blue line.
And while that group may sound modest compared to what Team USA will offer in the 2025 World Cup of Hockey, it is actually a far better roster than most countries typically have.
Alex Lyon is Team USA's lone goaltender committed, and he would be the team's biggest question mark in some people's eyes. However, the Red Wings were one of the worst defensive teams in the league this season, and Lyon still played to a +2.1 GSAx despite a .904 save %. The roster of commitments should allow Team USA to pressure shooters more effectively. It should also allow fewer odd-man rushes, which would allow Lyon to look a lot sharper than he did in Detroit. It's also quite possible that Charlie Lindgren would accept an invitation to join the team if the Rangers eliminate the Capitals in the first round.
Many of Team USA's best players had tremendous NHL seasons in the 2023-2024 season despite playing on bad teams. Alex Vlasic, Jake Sanderson, Seth Jones, Johnny Gaudreau and Cole Caufield will likely relish this opportunity to be on a team that actually carries the majority of the play.
The Pick: Team USA to win World Championship 2024 (+550 at DraftKings)
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