3 Best NHL Bets and Predictions for Saturday 4/12/25

Whether it's moneylines or total goals, there are plenty of ways to bet on the NHL action all season. It's a long 82-game campaign, meaning that the best selections of each night can be very different based on backup goalies coming into play, injuries that add up, and if teams are due for positive or negative swings.

For additional NHL insights, check out FanDuel Research's daily NHL projections, powered by numberFire.

Let's dive into the best bets for tonight.

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All NHL betting odds and totals are from the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. All advanced statistics are used from MoneyPuck.com and NaturalStatTrick.com. Lineup notes come from Daily Faceoff.

NHL Betting Picks Today

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Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Canadiens Moneyline (+190)

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens write the next chapter in their storied rivalry on Saturday night. The Canadiens are holding down the last remaining playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Depending on how the other games play out, they could lock up their spot with a win.

Montreal is trying to reverse course on an unflattering trend. Before last night’s loss, the Canadiens’ defensive zone coverage had imploded. Over their previous two contests, opponents had totaled 60 scoring and 26 high-danger chances. The Habs made modest progress on Friday night, limiting the Ottawa Senators to 16 scoring and 12 high-danger opportunities.

Thankfully, they can take another big step forward against a faltering Leafs squad. Toronto has combined for a paltry 11 quality chances over its last two games. More concerningly, they’ve failed to out-chance their opponents in either contest. Those ineffective performances have eroded expected goals-for rating, with the Leafs compiling a 36.0% mark.

Toronto is on a 3-1-0 streak, despite getting outplayed in all but one of those contests. We anticipate immediate correction, leaving an edge in backing the Canadiens on Saturday night.

St. Louis Blues vs. Seattle Kraken

Kraken Moneyline (+118)

The St. Louis Blues are trying to recapture the magic of their 12-game winning streak. Still, we don’t think they’ll have much luck against the Seattle Kraken on the last Saturday of the regular season.

The Blues were paying for wins with unsustainable metrics, and there’s still a lot owing on that debt. Since the start of their win streak, the Blues have compiled an actual goals-for rating of 46.5% while getting outplayed in 7 of those 14 contests. Those metrics stand in stark contrast to their 12-2-0 record and actual goals-for rating of 65.5%. Inevitably, ongoing correction is expected.

The Kraken aren’t the gold standard of analytics, but there are some promising green sprouts to consider. First, Seattle’s efforts are vastly superior at home. They’ve outplayed five of their last seven opponents while compiling a 53.6% expected goals-for rating. Second, the Kraken are coming off their most productive game of the past 10 days and have 11 goals at five-on-five over their last five.

St. Louis is playing its third straight game on the road amid deteriorating metrics. Therefore, there’s an edge in backing the underdog Kraken at home.

Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks

Canucks Moneyline (-118)

With just two games remaining in the regular season, the Minnesota Wild are skating on the second night of a back-to-back. The Wild are also skating on thin ice in the Western Conference playoff picture. The Vancouver Canucks could inch them closer to sinking with a win at home.

Unfortunately, Minnesota’s analytics profile points toward an impending collapse. The Wild have outplayed just one of their last five opponents, resulting in a deteriorating expected goals-for rating. But with just 11 high-danger chances over their previous two games, scoring has become the primary concern.

That’s unlikely to improve against a surprisingly stout Canucks squad. Vancouver has given up more than nine high-danger chances just once over its last six games, yielding positive results. Canucks netminders have given up more than two goals at five-on-five just once over their previous four outings.

The Wild’s chances of clinching a playoff berth are slowly fading away. The Canucks can embrace the role of spoiler on Saturday night, and their chances of winning are greater than the betting line implies.

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