Ice picks: Today's best NHL bets

Toronto Maple Leafs at Washington Capitals (-240, 6.5)

The Capitals are living up to their billing as the NHL’s most explosive offense.

Washington, which ranks tops in the league with 3.6 goals a game, has opened the scoring flood gates in recent games. The Capitals have won four of their last five contests, totaling 26 goals in that span, and playing over the total for the fourth straight game.

The team netted four regulation goals in a 5-4 shootout win over the Florida Panthers Wednesday after a slow start to the game. Washington outshot Florida 13-9 in the opening frame but went down 2-0 after the first period. After going down 4-1 midway through the second, the Capitals scored three unanswered goals to force the extra time.

“Obviously, we have to figure out what we're doing at the start of games,” Matt Bradley told the Washington Post. “Bouncing back shows a lot of character, but we have to figure out what's going on.”

Against the Maple Leafs, Washington hasn’t played its best hockey. The Capitals have gone 1-2 against Toronto but have played over the total in two of the three meetings this season.

Pick: Over


Nashville Predators at Calgary Flames (-145, 5.5)

The Music City Monsters are making sweet music during their Western Canada road trip.

The Predators have won the first two games on this stretch over the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers, setting their sights on the Calgary Flames Friday night. This recent run has improved Nashville to 14-7-1-1 away from Nashville Arena.

The team was exhausted following their win over Edmonton Tuesday after getting into the hotel around 2 a.m. in the morning. The Preds have had a couple days off to relax and catch their breath before Friday’s contests.

Even on fumes, Nashville still netted five goals against the Oilers and got a solid work from goaltender Pekka Rinne, who made 41 saves in the win – his fourth victory in his last five appearances.

"It's tough for everybody, travelling and playing, but it's the same for every team, so you can't really use that as an excuse," Rinne told reporters.

"But for me personally, I felt fresh, I didn't play (Monday) night and that was kind of the plan to play Dan Ellis in Vancouver and me here.

"That obviously worked well for us."

Pick: Predators