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This one feels bigger than a normal Thursday night regular season game. Nashville heads into Crypto.com Arena at 10:30 PM ET on ESPN+ with a 34-31-9 record, but the mood is tense after three straight losses and a playoff cushion that has basically vanished. Los Angeles is 30-26-18, and even with fewer wins, the Kings have pushed themselves right into the middle of the wild-card fight after beating St. Louis on Wednesday night. That is what makes this matchup interesting for bettors. The Predators still bring more top-end scoring punch, especially with Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos driving the offense, but the Kings are at home, they just got a badly needed result, and they look like the steadier defensive

The St. Louis Blues head to Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, April 1 for a 9:00 p.m. ET start against the Los Angeles Kings in one of the more important Western wild-card games on the board. Los Angeles enters at 29-26-18 and is sitting just one point behind Nashville for the final playoff spot with a game in hand, while St. Louis is 31-31-11 and still within striking distance at four points back, also with a game in hand. The market has this lined as a short Kings home-favorite game with a low total, which makes sense for a matchup that should feel tight from the opening faceoff. There is some urgency on both benches, but the paths look different. The

The Vancouver Canucks head to Ball Arena on Wednesday night for an 8:30 p.m. ET matchup with the Colorado Avalanche, and this one sets up as a serious test for a Vancouver team that has already been eliminated and enters at 21-44-8. Colorado is 49-14-10, owns a 24-7-5 home record, and has already beaten the Canucks twice this season. It is also one of the biggest favorites on the board. Vancouver has dropped six straight, while Colorado comes in off a 9-2 blowout of Calgary and has won four of its last five. There is still something to play for here too: the Avalanche can clinch home-ice advantage in Round 1 with a win, while a Canucks loss would lock

Anaheim heads to SAP Center on Wednesday night for a 9 p.m. ET matchup against San Jose, and this one matters on both sides of the standings. The Ducks enter at 41-28-5 with 87 points and still sit on top of the Pacific Division, while the Sharks are 34-31-7 with 75 points and still pushing hard for a Western Conference wild-card spot. It is also a national TV game on TNT, truTV, and HBO Max, so the market is getting a little more attention than usual. Anaheim is trying to clean up its late-game play after blowing a third-period lead in a 5-4 overtime loss to Toronto, and it will have to do that without Cutter Gauthier, who is out