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Top Shelf Picks: Best NHL Bets Today (Can Golden Knights and Kings Win in Final Day of Regular Season?)

Breaking down the best bets to place for Thursday night's NHL action including picks for the two meaningful games left in the regular season.

By Iain MacMillan

Apr 15, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) enters the ice
Apr 15, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) enters the ice / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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Welcome to the final day of the NHL regular season. There's little to play for in most games tonight, but there are two teams who are still fighting for seeding in the Western Conference.

Just one point separates the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings. Vegas currently holds the No. 3 spot in the Pacific Division and Los Angeles sits in the the second wild card spot ahead of tonight's games.

The Kings hold the tiebreaker between the two means meaning if the Golden Knights lose in any fashion, the door will be open for the Kings to surpass them. Whoever finishes higher in the standings will face the Edmonton Oilers in the opening round. Whoever finishes in the wild card spot will have to take on the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the Dallas Stars.

So, with that in mind, we're going to stick to betting on the two games that matter tonight. Let's dive into it.

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NHL Best Bets Today

  • Ducks +1.5 (+122) vs. Golden Knights
  • Kings -1.5 (-135) vs. Blackhawks

Ducks vs. Golden Knights prediction

I think this game is closer than a lot of people may think but instead of just taking the Ducks on the moneyline, I'm going to back them on the +1.5 puck line at plus-money instead. The Golden Knights aren't as dominant as you may think, ranking just 15th in expected goals percentage over their last 25 games.

Adin Hill gets the start for them tonight and he's been downright horrific of late, sporting a disgusting .877 save percentage over his last 14 starts. That should be enough to convince you the Ducks will be able to keep this game close.

Blackhawks vs. Kings prediction

I just simply can't back the Blackhawks in any fashion in this game. They have an average goal differential of -1.34 per 60 minutes of play this season and they rank inside the bottom five in virtually every single metric.

To make matters worse, they're dead last in the league in shooting percentage, meaning they don't have the ability to make up for poor play between the blue lines.

I have a lot more faith in the Kings to win with margin tonight than the Golden Knights, so I'll back them on the puck line.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

You can check out all of Iain's bets here!

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