NHL Best Bets Today, 4/8: Picks, Predictions & Player Props - Tuesday
Hello and welcome everyone to the Tuesday edition of the NHL Best Bets Today on April 8th, 2025! It’s a fresh start to the week for me on the NHL picks but with just 12 days until the Stanley Cup
Playoffs start soon, so we need to lock in right away and take advantage of these bigger slate while we can! 10 games around the NHL tonight, check out the NHL predictions below to tail or fade, the choice is yours!
NHL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 4/8
In this NHL Best Bets Today article you will find an array of choices from some Money Lines and Team totals to plenty of player props for the action today in NHL Picks! 10 games on this weekday slate let’s dive right into it!
Now, let's dive into my expert NHL Best Bets today!
- Regular Season Record: 195-138-1
- Bankroll: +41.2 Units
Follow me on Twitter @jwaggs10
Maple Leafs vs. Panthers Predictions: Tuesday, April 8th
It’s been a strange end to the season for some of the league’s top teams like the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers that were just in the Stanley Cup Finals. I realize they are banged up right now without Matthew Tkachuk, but I am concerned with how this Florida offense looks right now. They will get Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov back tonight but is that enough?
In the last 10 games the Panthers have scored just 18 goals! That’s right: 1.8 goals per game, that’s it! That’s a number that can’t continue once the postseason begins but for tonight, I don’t see much changing against a Maple Leafs team that has really committed to defense this season. More recently they’ve allowed just 23 goals over the last 10 games and Joseph Woll is having a nice season with a .906 SV%.
All those numbers and trends mixed and combined with Florida being 20-17 towards to under on home ice this season my NHL best bets today have to rock with the under for tonight and hope the Panthers figure out their woes another game.
- Expert Maple Leafs vs. Panthers Picks:
- Toronto vs. Florida Under 5.5 Goals (-115 on Caesars)
Best NHL Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 4/8
- Vancouver Canucks vs. Dallas Stars Over 5.5 Goals (-110 on DraftKings)
- Columbus Blue Jackets Money Line (-105 on DraftKings)
- Sidney Crosby (PIT) Over 1.5 Points (+160 on DraftKings)
Player News
Wyatt Langford (oblique) will begin a minor league rehab assignment at Double-A Frisco on Thursday.
The 23-year-old budding superstar will serve as the designated hitter on Thursday night before easing his way back into the outfield. Langford wanted to skip the rehab assignment altogether, so as long as he shows that he’s ready to go, there’s a chance that the Rangers could bring him back at some point during their weekend series against the Dodgers.
Beat reporter Scott Bair reports that Bears DC Dennis Allen asked slot CB Kyler Gordon to learn a second position, either on the perimeter or at safety.
The Bears’ previous coaching staff spent two seasons trying this experiment before allowing Gordon to blossom in a full-time slot- and box-coverage role last season. Perhaps, Allen can succeed where others have failed. His intent is to “find some more playing time” for Gordon, which is understandable given Gordon’s significant on-field impact last year.
Kyle Schwarber went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs on Thursday afternoon, propelling the Phillies to a 6-4 victory over the visiting Giants.
Schwarber got the Phillies on the board with a go-ahead two-run single off of Jordan Hicks and then scored on a wild pitch as part of a five-run opening inning. He also reached on an infield single in the fifth inning but was left stranded there. The 32-year-old slugger is off to a strong start to the 2025 campaign, slashing .284/.435/.597 with six homers, 14 RBI and a stolen base in his first 85 plate appearances.
José Alvarado notched his fourth save of the season on Thursday, protecting a two-run advantage in the ninth inning against the Giants.
The 29-year-old left-hander came on with a three-run lead to protect, but things got a bit closer as he served up a one-out solo homer to Tyler Fitzgerald. After getting Wilmer Flores on a ground ball to shortstop, Alvarado walked Jung Hoo Lee to bring the tying run to the plate before retiring Christian Koss on a fielder’s choice to end it. He appears to be locked in as the preferred ninth inning option for manager Rob Thomson and should continue to provide plenty of fantasy value for as long as he remains healthy and stationed there.
Cristopher Sanchez picked up his second victory of the season on Thursday, racking up a season-high 12 strikeouts over seven innings against the Giants.
The 28-year-old southpaw allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and one walk. The Giants scratched out a run against him in the first inning on a two-out RBI single by Matt Chapman. Sanchez then served up a two-run homer to Chapman in the sixth after Heliot Ramos had reached on an error. He got a whopping 24 swings and misses on 97 pitches in the ballgame — 22 of those on his changeup alone — while posting an elite CSW of 40 percent. Now 2-0 on the season, Sanchez will carry a 2.96 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 31/6 K/BB ratio (24 1/3 innings) into Tuesday’s showdown against the Mets in New York.
Matt Chapman went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI on Thursday, accounting for most of the Giants’ offense in a losing effort against the Phillies.
Chapman got the Giants on the board first with an RBI single off of Cristopher Sanchez in the opening inning. He then tagged him for a 372-foot (100.6 mph EV) two-run shot in the sixth inning that pulled the Giants to within two runs at 5-3. That would be as close as they would get. With his two-hit attack, the 31-year-old third baseman is now hitting .239/.386/.418 with three homers, 12 RBI and two stolen bases through his first 19 games.