The first two NHL slates following their return from the 2026 Winter Olympics were loaded, so we aren’t surprised to see a bit of a lighter one. Even still, it’s a Friday night that includes a matchup on NHL Network (Golden Knights vs. Capitals), so we’re here to hook you up with our NHL best bets today and NHL DFS cheat sheet predictions.

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🏒 NHL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 2/27

Again, it’s not the most packed slate to kick off our weekend, and the aforementioned featured matchup on NHL Network has actually made the cut in terms of our NHL expert picks. That will be along with the nightcap of Jets vs. Ducks, so what about the other two matchups?

While they didn’t quite make the cut in terms of our NHL best bets today, they’re still great clashes on the ice to enjoy. After all, we’ll get to enjoy two of the recent Olympic gold medalists going head-to-head with Sabres vs. Panthers in Tage Thompson vs. Matthew Tkachuk. It’s worth noting that Florida will be back on a back-to-back.

Buffalo won their first game back from the break, but only barely, 2-1 over Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils. The only other matchup on the slate is Wild vs. Mammoth, which will see Kirill Kaprizov and Minnesota on a back-to-back. Now, let’s fully dive into the games that made the cut for our NHL best bets today. 
 

 

 

🔥 Golden Knights vs. Capitals Prediction: Vegas ML (+108 at Novig)

Starting with the featured matchup of the slate brings us to the interconference clash in the nation’s capital. With that being the case, we have yet to see these teams play one another this year, but we’re trusting Jack Eichel and company to come through.

Outside of being across the country, there’s not much that we don’t love about Vegas being part of our NHL best bets today. Jack Eichel was seen quite often en route to the USA’s gold medal, but the Golden Knights have several skaters overseas at the Winter Olympics. That’s no shock, as they’re leading the entire Pacific Division right now.

They buffered their lead with a 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night, and while the Caps also got a win over the Philadelphia Flyers, it wasn’t the most impressive in our eyes. With the odds on the board, we’re able to keep things nice and simple with our NHL best bets today and just take the Vegas money line (+108 at Novig).

🔥 Jets vs. Ducks Prediction: Winnipeg ML (+115 at Novig)

As promised, we’ve also got a pick for the nightcap. Admittedly, we were surprised to see the Ducks take down Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night, which saw them leapfrog them in the standings as well. 

Around the same time, Winnipeg was able to grab an overtime win over the Vancouver Canucks. As for our NHL best bets today, we’re backing the Jets to get their revenge on Anaheim, who beat them back at the start of the season. However, the Ducks are still prone to some poor goaltending, and Winnipeg gets back Connor Hellebuyck!

That’s bad news against a volume shooter in Kyle Connor, who scored the other night, and point-machine Mark Scheifele, who had two more alongside Connor. That’s a bit of foreshadowing in terms of our NHL DFS cheat sheet predictions, but as for adding to our NHL best bets today, we’re on the Jets money line (+115 at Novig).
 

 

 

🏒 Best NHL Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 2/27

In addition to some traditional NHL picks on some of tonight’s games, here are some popular player props at Novig Sportsbook:

Anytime Goal Scorer:

Shots on Goal (Over/Under):

Assists (Over/Under):

 

 

🏒 Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks

Seeing some top NHL player props after our best predictions for tonight is the perfect transition into our NHL DFS cheat sheet predictions.

🏅 Skater of the Day: Mark Scheifele

Given our NHL best bets today, it only makes sense that we have some correlated plays. Since we’re expecting the road victory of the Jets over the Ducks, we’re going big with our skater of the day.

Kyle Connor came through with a goal on Wednesday night, and par for the course was Scheifele coming through with two assists. His 70 points in 57 games have him inside the top 10 in the entire NHL, and while he may not rival the likes of Connor McDavid for the Art Ross Trophy, he’s worth being part of our NHL DFS cheat sheet predictions.

Despite Winnipeg having a rough game versus Anaheim at the start of the season, Scheifele still notched an assist (to Connor, naturally). He doesn’t light things up from a shots perspective, but he’s still second on the team in that regard. It’s a “square” pick, but we love Scheifele as part of our NHL DFS cheat sheet predictions.

🏅 Goalie of the Day: Alex Lyon

If you were locked into our NHL best bets today on the first day back from the 2026 Winter Olympics, then you can see that we’re going back to the well. Sabres netminders have been prime targets much of the year, and tonight’s recipe against the Panthers is perfect.

Buffalo allows the fourth-most shots per game while still staying average in terms of goals allowed per game. Along with having the fourth-best penalty kill percentage, it adds up to a ton of shots allowed without allowing 4+ goals on a nightly basis. That alone is enough to have Lyon in our NHL DFS cheat sheet predictions.

On top of that, Florida takes the ninth-most shots per game this season, and keep in mind that average is without big names for part of the season, such as Matthew Tkachuk. Even still, when these teams have met this year - three times already - Lyon had save totals of 32 and 39 (Colten Ellis had 28 in the other).

Out of our entire NHL DFS cheat sheet predictions, the goaltender spot is perhaps our most valuable one.

🏅 Value Pick of the Day: Dylan DeMelo

Speaking of value, let’s keep that coming. As you can see, it again correlates to our NHL best bets today in terms of backing the Jets. We’ve got the big hitters like Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, but they aren’t the only ones worth targeting with our NHL DFS cheat sheet predictions.

Winnipeg is currently without top defenseman Josh Morrissey, which means more opportunities for others. Dylan DeMelo is set to be on the top line with Logan Stanley tonight and is coming in at an extremely reasonable price of around $4,100. Even without these extra opportunities, DeMelo has averaged over 21 minutes of ice time per game this year.

Now facing an Anaheim squad that can help boost his assist numbers as well, Dylan DeMelo is worthy of our NHL DFS cheat sheet predictions.

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