There is no mystery left in the NHL playoff race. The eight Western Conference teams are set after the Winnipeg Jets knocked off the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night, and the only thing left to be determined in the West is the exact seeding. Vegas will be the No. 1 seed in the West as long as it gets a result in its last game against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night, and the Golden Knights already beat the Kraken on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Colorado has a one-point lead on Dallas for the top spot in the Central Division, and the Avalanche will look to grab home ice advantage for the first two rounds with wins over Winnipeg and the Nashville Predators on Thursday and Friday.
Things are even clearer in the Eastern Conference. The Florida Panthers ended up qualifying for the playoffs after the Pittsburgh Penguins were stunned as a huge favorite against the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh opened as a -430 favorite per the NHL betting odds and closed as a -550 favorite, but the Pens looked gassed in a 5-2 loss to a bad Chicago team. The Penguins are no longer in control of their playoff destiny, and they need the New York Islanders to lose to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night to have a chance of making the postseason.
As for specific matchups, we’ve pretty much known Tampa Bay and Toronto would meet in the first round since January, and Boston is the overall No. 1 seed after putting together the best regular season in NHL history. The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers will likely meet in the first round too as long as the Carolina Hurricanes don’t lose to the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
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NHL Schedule for Thursday, April 13
Boston Bruins at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m. ET
New Jersey Devils at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Penguins at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. ET
Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Rangers, 7 p.m. ET
Ottawa Senators at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET
Carolina Hurricanes at Florida Panthers, 7 p.m. ET
Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m. ET
Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche, 8 p.m. ET
St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m. ET
Philadelphia Flyers at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. ET
San Jose Sharks at Edmonton Oilers, 9 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Kings at Anaheim Ducks, 10 p.m. ET
Vancouver Canucks at Arizona Coyotes, 10 p.m. ET
Vegas Golden Knights at Seattle Kraken, 10:30 p.m. ET
NHL Parlay Picks for Thursday, April 13, 2023
Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche
Vegas Golden Knights at Seattle Kraken
Most teams will be playing their regular season finales on Thursday night, and there isn’t much at stake for the vast majority of teams on this day. However, the Colorado Avalanche have something to play for on Thursday and Friday as the Avs are looking to ensure they will be playing their Central Division opponents at home in the playoffs. Colorado is 8-1-1 over its last ten games, and the only loss for the Avalanche came against the red-hot Edmonton Oilers. On the other hand, Winnipeg has nothing to play for in this game since the Jets are locked into their spot, and they will likely focus on being healthy for the postseason.
For the other game, I’m going to go back to the well with Vegas and use the same rationale that I did on Tuesday night. The Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken are both better off with Vegas winning this game just as we saw last night. That allows Seattle to avoid Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs, and it gives Vegas home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Seattle would likely much rather play Vegas than Edmonton, and a loss would assure the Kraken of that matchup.
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