NHL Picks & Predictions

2025-26 NHL Regular Season Picks & Predictions - Ice Hockey Betting Odds

With training camps and the NHL pre-season behind us, ice hockey fans can finally get excited about the start of the regular season. Stars like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are ready to begin a new season, as all 32 NHL teams begin their chase for the Stanley Cup. From a betting angle, NHL fans will certainly appreciate what Stake Sportsbook has to offer.

However, before you start making bets at Stake on the 2025-26 NHL season, read our sports betting guide to make sure you are armed with all the facts ahead of the new NHL campaign.

NHL History & Previous Winners

The NHL has a long and rich history dating back over 100 years. In 1917, the NHL was organised in Canada following the suspension of operations by the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited (NHA). The league was small at first, but started expanding beyond the “original six” franchises in 1967 and now includes 32 teams.

Overall, the Montreal Canadiens have the most Stanley Cup victories with 24. The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs are also among the franchises with a proud history. But here is a list of the most recent Stanley Cup champions:

2024-25 Season Recap

The Florida Panthers won the 2025 Stanley Cup. It was their second straight title, beating the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final both times. Behind Alexsander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Carolina Hurricanes on their way to the Stanley Cup Final. While former MVP Connor McDavid got the Oilers back to the Final, they couldn’t overcome the Panthers.

During the regular season, the Winnipeg Jets finished with the best record, earning them the President’s Trophy despite their disappointing playoff finish in the conference semifinals. The 2024-25 season was also highlighted by Nikita Kucherov, who led the league in points, Nathan MacKinnon, who tied Kucherov for the league lead in assists, and Leon Draisaitl, who led the NHL in goals.

NHL Regular Season Format & Schedule

The 2025-26 NHL season will feature 32 teams playing 82 games. It’s worth noting that the 2025-26 edition will be the last with an 82-game schedule, as the 2026-27 season will see an expansion to 84 games. There will be 16 playoff teams, eight from the Eastern Conference and eight from the Western Conference. Each round is a best-of-7 series, ultimately bringing the Eastern Conference Champion and the Western Conference Champion together in the Stanley Cup final.

Preseason

The NHL preseason began on September 20, 2025, and finished on October 4.

Regular Season

The 2025-26 NHL regular season begins on October 7, 2025, and every team will play its final game on April 16, 2026. However, no games will be played between February 6 and 24 because of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

The first games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are tentatively scheduled for April 18, 2026.

Stanley Cup Finals

There is no specific date for the start of the Stanley Cup Finals. The schedule depends on the length of the series in previous rounds. However, the Stanley Cup Finals will take place in June 2026.

2025-26 NHL Regular Season Picks & Expert Predictions

Ahead of the 2025-26 season, all eyes are on the Panthers and their efforts to win a third straight championship. But they aren’t the only team with Stanley Cup hopes. The Carolina Hurricanes are among the favourites behind players like Nikolaj Ehlers and K’Andre Miller. The Montreal Canadiens also have a loaded roster behind captain Nick Suzuki, who is flanked by winger Cole Faufield. The offseason addition of Noah Dobson also puts the Canadiens in a favourable position this season.

Of course, the Western Conference also has some teams ready to compete for the Stanley Cup. The Oilers are the obvious candidate after losing in the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back seasons. However, Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel have the Las Vegas Knights poised for another title run. Meanwhile, Mikko Rantanen is the type of wildcard player who could help the Dallas Stars make some noise this season.

Notable Teams & Players

Aside from the obvious title contenders, nine NHL teams underwent coaching changes during the offseason. All of those teams are hoping that a new coach will help them overachieve and finish better than their predicted regular-season finish or their spot in any preseason power rankings. After all, the NHL season always has some surprises, so even overlooked teams like the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets could improve their point totals from last season and make a run at the playoffs.

Last but not least, there are plenty of young players to watch in the NHL this season. While it might be too soon for anyone from this year’s NHL Draft to make an impact, there are several potential breakout stars, including Montreal’s Ivan Demidov, who is the leading favourite to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.

Types of Ice Hockey Bets & How to Bet on Ice Hockey on Stake

Betting on ice hockey at Stake Sportsbook is straightforward. The first step is to sign up for an account and deposit funds. Then you can choose your bets from our list of upcoming games.

If you’re new to betting, read our beginner's betting tips before you get started. You could also consider the Kelly Criterion strategy as a guide for your bets, and always adhere to a budget when you bet.

When you’re ready to start exploring NHL odds, here are the types of bets available:

• Moneyline - Moneyline bets require you to predict the match winner. This doesn’t take into account Overtime.

• Puck line bets - This is essentially like handicaps betting or sports spread betting. You may see a team that is a -1.5 favourite. That means your bet will pull through if they win by 2 or more goals.

• Futures - Referring to longer-term bets, future odds are akin to outrights bets. You could wager on the Panthers to win the Stanley Cup or Jacob Markstrom to win the Ted Lindsay Trophy, which is an award handed to an individual player for outstanding performance throughout the season.

• Prop betting- This can be split into team props and player props. With the latter, you could wager on Jake Oettinger to make 3 or more saves in the first half for the Dallas Stars. Invariably, you can get some juicy odds here.

• Parlay betting - You will combine multiple picks into 1 overriding bet, but all legs must come through for you to win.

• Same game multi bet builder - Rather than wagering on the outcome of several matches, you can compile multi bets from the same game into 1. For example, you could bet on the Montreal Canadiens to beat the Vancouver Canucks, have 10+ shots on target, and predict the Correct Score.

• Totals betting - A versatile betting line, you could wager on the Over 3.5 goals line. To be successful, 4 or more goals must be scored, and it is a good betting type for beginners and more seasoned gamblers.

Bet on Ice Hockey Live & Watch NHL Live on Stake

There is no better place than Stake to watch the live NHL action. If an upcoming game has the stream logo next to it, you’ll be able to watch it live for free on Stake once the action gets underway. When you watch games live on Stake, you can monitor your bets, explore cashout options, and even place live bets on the action.

Deposit & Withdrawal Methods for Betting on Ice Hockey

Log into your account using a passkey , making deposits and withdrawals is just as easy. Stake offers a variety of local currencies including Canadian Dollars, Turkish Lira, Vietnamese Dong, Argentine Pesos, Chilean Pesos, Mexican Pesos, USD in Ecuador, Indian Rupees, and more to deposit funds and make wagers.

We also accept multiple types of cryptocurrencies. You can use platforms like Moonpay and Swapped to deposit BTC, ETH, USDT, EOS, Doge, LTC, TRX, SOL, and other cryptos. To make crypto betting safe, Stake utilises mesh integration. With help from the Stake Vault, you can always trust that your funds will be secure.

Stake Sportsbook Promotions, VIP Club & Responsible Betting

Stake Sportsbook is always happy to offer bonuses and promotions. Users are routinely eligible for a rakeback bonus, a reload bonus, profit boosts, and other promotions. Once you decide to sign up for our VIP club, you can expect more reward opportunities, including a dedicated VIP host at higher levels. To learn more about the benefits of VIP membership, read our VIP FAQ page.

Whether you’re a VIP or not, you can always expect Stake to provide top-level customer support. We are also committed to responsible betting practices. That’s why we have resources like Stake Smart available to help keep sports betting fun and educate our users on making good choices.