This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
NHL Best Bets & Picks: Senators vs Flames & Islanders vs Kings – Expert Game Previews
The National Hockey League (NHL) have a total of eight games on Thursday evening, with the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, and the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings square off at 9:30 p.m. ET in the second end of the nationally-televised doubleheader.
We'll provide single plays and parlay opportunities you could potentially pair with Thursday's NBA and/or NCAA basketball action. Good luck with all of your plays! Let's get started.
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Ottawa Senators 
at Calgary Flames 
The Senators (29-22-9) and the Flames (24-29-7) meet at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Manitoba at 9 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed or streamed on ESPN+.
Ottawa is making its third stop on a five-game road trip, which includes visits to each of the Canadian teams in the Pacific Division, as well as the Seattle Kraken. The Sens kicked off the road trip with a wild 5-4 overtime loss in Edmonton on Tuesday, blowing a 4-2 lead after two periods. Linus Ullmark was dinged for five goals on 37 shots, but two of the final three goals in the comeback were on the power play, including the game-winning shot in OT.
The Sens have played into overtime in three of the past four outings, winning one of those games, while posting a 5-2 win in Toronto. The Under has a slight 4-3 edge in the past seven games, although the Over is 3-1 in the previous four outings on the road.
The Flames were doused 6-1 by the visiting Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, as Dustin Wolf just didn't have it. The Flames are now 0-2-1 in the past three games, accounting for just three total goals in the span. The Over was an oddity, though, as the Under is still 5-2-1 in the past eight games, and 12-4-2 in the past 18 games.
Ottawa has won three in a row in this series, including a 4-3 win in a shootout earlier this season in Canada's capital city. Matt Coronato and Yegor Sharangovich had power-play goals for the Flames, while Jake Sanderson notched a game-leveling goal at 17:11 of the third period to force overtime, with the Senators eventually winning in the shootout.
We've had three straight one-goal wins by the Senators in this series, and they're the better team lately. Let's back Ottawa straight up as moderate favorites, and we'll go Over on the total as long as it stays below a flat six.
- Senators ML (-170 at Bet365, BetMGM and DraftKings Sportsbooks)
- Over 5.5 (-115 at Caesars Sportsbook)
Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.
New York Islanders 
at Los Angeles Kings 
The Islanders (35-22-5) and the Kings (24-22-14) meet at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles in the second end of the ESPN double dip at 9:30 p.m. ET.
The Kings have won three in a row in the series, including a series sweep last season, and Los Angeles has won seven of the previous eight meetings. In L.A., the Kings have won straight in the series at home, last losing Oct. 18, 2018, to the Islanders, 7-2.
The Under has cashed in four in a row in this series, with a total of 4.3 goals per game (GPG) in that span. That's a total of just 17 goals, with the Islanders managing just two scores in the past three meetings.
New York suffered a 5-1 loss in Anaheim on Wednesday, and now it faces the quick turnaround with Ilya Sorokin in the crease. David Rittich was snowed under for five goals on Wednesday, halting a five-game win streak by the team. The Over is 3-1 in the past four games.
For Los Angeles, it was doubled up at home by the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2, as the total pushed at most shops. The Kings are skidding hard lately, going 1-5-1 in the past seven games, with L.A. allowing at least four goals in five of the past six contests. The Under is 6-3-1 in the past 10 games for the Kings, while going 10-5-1 across the previous 16 contests, too.
Based on the series trends and L.A. trends lately, the Under looks good. But, let's go Over as long as it remains at 5.5. And, we'll take the Islanders to get the job done, and they're a great value at plus-money.
- Islanders ML (+115 at Bet365 and Caesars Sportsbooks)
- Over 5.5 (-105 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
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Parlay Strategy and Super Parlay Picks for NHL Betting Slates
4-Leg NHL Super Parlay (+884 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Senators ML (-178) at Flames
- Over 5.5 (-122) - Senators at Flames
- Over 5.5 (-115) - Islanders at Kings
- Islanders ML (+110) at Kings
2-Leg NHL Sides Parlay (+227 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Senators ML (-178) at Flames
- Islanders ML (+110) at Kings
2-Leg NHL Totals Parlay (+240 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Over 5.5 (-122) - Senators at Flames
- Over 5.5 (-115) - Islanders at Kings
