NHL Predictions – Expert Picks on Wednesday, April 23:
Here are Wednesday’s NHL predictions.
Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals (-195, 5.5)
Game Two
7 p.m. ET
Alexander Ovechkin’s memorable season continued Monday as he scored a pair of goals and added an assist in the Capitals’ 3-2 Game One series win over the Montreal Canadiens. Ovechkin’s second goal of the game was his first career playoff overtime goal. Washington dominated Montreal for the first 50 minutes of game one before the Canadiens scored two goals in the final 10 minutes of the third period to get the game tied and set the stage for Ovechkin’s overtime heroics.
I’m anticipating the Canadiens to come out flying in the opening 20 minutes tonight and try to jump on the Capitals in their efforts to get the series tied at a game apiece. One trend that I have noticed to start the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs is that the team who lost Game One has pushed the pace in the opening 20 minutes of Game Two. Four of the five teams that lost Game One has scored a first period goal in Game Two.
It was no surprise that the Habs’ two best players accounted for both goals in game one. Nick Suzuki led the Canadiens in scoring in their last playoff run and was second on the team in goals during the regular season. Cole Caufield’s 37 goals this season led the team. With his Game One goal, he has scored four goals in four games against the Capitals this season. Lane Hutson, who will likely win Rookie of the Year, had assisted on both Montreal goals in game one and has upped his assist total to six this season against the Caps (regular season and playoffs combined).
Game 2 Predictions:
Montreal Canadiens Over ½ goal 1st period – .25 units
Alexander Ovechkin anytime goal +120 – .20 units
Nick Suzuki/Cole Caufield Over ½ pt parlay +113 – .35 units
Lane Hutson Over ½ assist (-111) – .25 units
Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche (-190, 6.5)
Game Three
9:30 p.m. ET
The Dallas Stars evened up the series with a 4-3 overtime win in game number two as the series shifts to Colorado for games three and four. The big story for tonight is the expected return of Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog, who will be playing his first game in three years as he has been battling back from a devastating knee injury. Nathan MacKinnon leads the Avalanche with three goals, and as always, he has been a shot volume machine. MacKinnon has eleven shots on goal (four, seven) in the series and thirty-one shots on goal in his last four games combined. On the Dallas side, defenseman Esa Lindell is doing his best to help goaltender Jake Oettinger and has nine blocked shots in two games.
Game Three Predictions:
Colorado Avalanche TT Over 3.5 (-108) -.50 units
Nathan MacKinnon Over 4.5 shots on goal (+140)
Esa Lindell Over 2.5 blocked shots (-140) – .50 units
Esa Lindell Over 3.5 blocked shots +190 – .15 units
