NHL Playoff Predictions Today: Expert Moneyline Picks for Thursday, May 1

We offer our moneyline picks for each contest with four potential series clinchers on the NHL playoffs docket.

Gary Pearson

Last Updated: May 1, 2025 7:46 AM EDT • 4 minute read

NHL Playoff Predictions Today: Best Moneyline picks for Thursday, May 1 — Pictured: Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon shoots against the Dallas Stars. Photo by Ron Chenoy via Imagn Images.

The only thing better than playoff hockey is having four potential series clinchers on the same day, and we have you covered with our NHL playoff predictions and best NHL picks for Thursday's games.

Three home teams will attempt to stave off elimination (Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators), while the Edmonton Oilers have an opportunity to oust the Los Angeles Kings on home ice.

🏒 Expert moneyline predictions: Thursday, May 1

✅ Maple Leafs (+100 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅ Golden Knights (-164 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐
✅ Avalanche (-180 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐
✅ Oilers (-164 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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🚨 Maple Leafs ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Will the Toronto Maple Leafs bottle their third chance to vanquish the Senators?

Unfortunately for Senators fans, I feel the Maple Leafs will finally get it right. Despite losing Game 4, 4-0, the Buds created the most chances 5-on-5 they have all series, finishing with 2.01 expected goals. Compare that to the Senators' 1.35. Overall, the Maple Leafs won the expected goals battle 3.07 to 2.65.

That hasn't been the way for most of the series, with the Senators dictating 5-on-5 play for the most part.

But if Craig Berube's team fires the kitchen sink at Linus Ullmark like they did in Game 4, it will be challenging for the Sens' netminder to stand on his head again. Ullmark finished Game 5 with an eye-popping 3.07 goals saved above expected. I can't see him pulling that off twice in a row. If he does, the Sens will extend the series.

I also expect a bounce-back outing from Anthony Stolarz. All of that should combine for a Maple Leafs victory.

👉 Check out our Maple Leafs vs. Senators Game 6 player props

💰 Best odds: +100 via Caesars

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📈 Live Senators vs. Maple Leafs odds

🚨 Golden Knights ⭐⭐⭐

Consecutive overtime wins have the Golden Knights on the cusp of the second round. While the Minnesota Wild - particularly Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy - have put up a valiant fight, losing in back-to-back overtimes must be challenging to deal with emotionally and psychologically.

Vegas overpowered the Wild at Xcel Energy Center in Game 4 and were unlucky not to win in regulation. In addition, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone are finally heating up, with both hitting the scoresheet in consecutive games. FanDuel offers the longest odds of our best sports betting sites, and a winning $10 bet will profit $6.10.

👉 Check out our Golden Knights vs. Wild Game 6 player props

💰 Best odds: -164 via FanDuel

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📈 Live Wild vs. Golden Knights odds

🚨 Avalanche ⭐⭐⭐

I can't envision the Avalanche going out on home ice. They were the superior team in Games 3 and 4 but failed to make their dominance count in the former, losing in overtime after blowing a four-minute power play in the extra session.

The only way I see Dallas winning Game 6 is a combination of Jake Oettinger standing on his head and Mackenzie Blackwood enduring another faulty outing.

That said, it won't be easy, and we're yet to see how Blackwood will perform with his back against the wall for the first time in the postseason. Still, the Avs' best players should step up as they've done countless times.

💰 Best odds: -180 via DraftKings

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📈 Live Stars vs. Avalanche odds

🚨 Oilers ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I've got a pitch for Red Bull.

They should use Connor McDavid as their poster child, as the Oilers captain perpetually plays with wings. After seeing what the Oilers accomplished at home in Games 3 and 4, overturning late deficits twice to prevail, I have no doubt they'll get the job done in Game 6.

The Kings had their chance to finish them off. They didn't take either one, and now they'll pay the ultimate price. Despite not having Mattias Ekholm, the Oilers are rightly among the Stanley Cup odds favorites.

👉 Check out our Kings vs. Oilers Game 6 player props

💰 Best odds: -164 via FanDuel

📈 Live Kings vs. Oilers odds

💵 Best hockey betting sites

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Written by:
Gary Pearson

Gary Pearson has written professionally since 2010, focusing on sports betting since 2014. Before entering the sports betting space, he contributed to the Canadian Press, FanSided, the Hockey Writers, the Calgary Herald, and other publications. His work has also been featured in Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report. Gary, who consumes sports like a blue whale devours plankton, has a penchant for writing predictions and analyses across several sports, including hockey, soccer, football, tennis, and more. He bets regularly, preferring single-game picks, props, and live betting. While there isn't a sport he has yet to dabble in, Gary prefers betting on soccer, hockey, and football. He studied at various post-secondary institutions, including the University of Calgary, SAIT Polytechnic, and Griffith University, located in Brisbane, Australia. Gary has a marketing degree and completed his bachelor's degree in journalism at Griffith University. He feels strongly that life experience is as essential as post-secondary education, helping formulate more accurate predictions and analyses. Gary believes that competing at a high level of amateur sports during his formative years helped him better understand an athlete's psyche and the nuances and complexities of a team's dynamic, both on and off the playing surface. He feels that knowledge is immeasurably important when offering his analytical expertise. He has lived on five continents and currently resides in Canada.