NHL Best Bets Today: Expert NHL Picks for 04/30/2025

The Capitals have a golden opportunity to close out their series against the Canadiens on home ice after taking a commanding 3-1 series lead with their Game 4 road victory.

Montreal is facing significant goaltending concerns with starter Montembeault potentially sidelined again, forcing them to rely on a rookie netminder with limited playoff experience in a do-or-die elimination game.

Washington showed impressive resilience in Game 4, breaking open what was a 2-2 tie late in the third period to secure a decisive win when it mattered most. That late-game execution should carry over to their home ice.

The Canadiens showed vulnerability in the third period of Game 4, particularly in the final five minutes where they completely collapsed, allowing Washington to turn a tied game into a three-goal victory.

With the home crowd behind them and facing a potentially shaky goaltending situation for Montreal, the Capitals have solid value on the puck line to finish this series with a multi-goal victory and avoid a return trip to Canada for Game 6.

The Capitals-Canadiens series has generally been low-scoring, with Games 1 and 2 seeing just 5 and 4 goals respectively. Even with the recent Game 4 seeing 7 goals, that total was inflated by a pair of empty-net goals in the final minutes.

Game 1 saw minimal offense through most of the contest, with three of five goals coming only in the final 10 minutes of regulation and overtime. Game 2 was even more defensively oriented with just four goals total.

While Game 4 ultimately finished with 7 goals, it was actually a tight 2-1 affair after two periods, maintaining the defensive pattern seen throughout much of this series before the late flurry.

With Washington looking to close out the series on home ice, expect a more structured, playoff-style approach rather than trading chances in a track meet. The Capitals can rely on their defensive system to secure the series win.

Montreal faces elimination and may take fewer risks offensively while focusing on defensive structure to stay in the game. Combined with their potential goaltending issues, this suggests a lower-scoring, tightly-checked elimination game rather than an offensive shootout.

The Blues have completely flipped this series with back-to-back convincing wins in Games 3 and 4, evening things up at 2-2 as they head back to Winnipeg with all the momentum.

Connor Hellebuyck continues to struggle in the playoffs, posting just an .817 save percentage in this series while allowing 15 goals through 4 games. His playoff troubles run deeper, having allowed 3+ goals in 17 of his last 22 playoff appearances.

St. Louis has been the better team throughout this series, creating quality scoring chances with Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas leading an attack that's tallied 16 goals already – including 12 in just the last two games.

The Blues' defensive unit anchored by Justin Faulk and Colton Parayko has limited the Jets to just 10 goals in the series, with Winnipeg managing only 5 goals over the last three contests.

Multiple expert sources point to the Blues as a strong road underdog play, noting that St. Louis could easily be leading this series if a few bounces had gone differently in the opening games. With the series momentum clearly shifted, the Blues offer excellent value at plus money.

Game 5 between the Blues and Jets sets up as another high-scoring affair with St. Louis having found their offensive groove, scoring 12 goals in the last two games alone.

The Blues' forward unit featuring Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, and Jordan Kyrou has been relentless in creating scoring chances, while defensemen Cam Fowler and Justin Faulk contribute offensively from the blue line.

Winnipeg, facing the pressure of potentially falling behind in the series, should push the pace with their top scorers Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele looking to generate offense and quick strikes in transition.

The goaltending matchup continues to favor more goals, with Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck struggling throughout the series, posting just an .817 save percentage while allowing 15 goals in 4 games.

The series has seen plenty of scoring chances from both sides, and with the stakes getting higher, both teams will be aggressive offensively, making the over 5.5 a solid play for Wednesday night's pivotal Game 5.