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Thursday is the final day of the 2025-26 NHL regular season before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin this weekend\. With six games on the schedule, there are plenty of Kalshi NHL picks to make today. Five playoff teams will take the ice for the final time before the postseason kicks off. The Utah Mammoth will host the St. Louis Blues, the Anaheim Ducks visit the Nashville Predators, the Los Angeles Kings will head north to face the Calgary Flames, the Edmonton Oilers will wrap their season up at home against the Vancouver Canucks, and the NHL-best Colorado Avalanche will take on the Seattle Kraken in Denver. 

For the last time this regular season, let's break down the best NHL trades available on Kalshi for Thursday's six-game slate. Recommendations for these trades come with the help of the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NHL game 10,000 times.  

Trade on Thursday's NHL games with the latest Kalshi promo code.

Best NHL trades for Thursday, April 16

  • Canucks to win vs. Oilers
  • Flames to win vs. Kings
  • Predators to win, or lose by less than 1.5 goals vs. Ducks
  • Kraken-Avalanche Over 6.5 total goals

Canucks to win vs. Oilers

The Oilers' final test before the postseason is a matchup with the Canucks, who will once again miss the playoffs after finishing at the bottom of the Pacific Division. Edmonton has made the Stanley Cup Final each of the last two seasons, losing to the Florida Panthers each time. With Florida missing the postseason, perhaps Edmonton could win its first Stanley Cup since 1990. As for Thursday's contest, however, the SportsLine model likes the underdog Canucks to pull off the upset as they win in 37% of simulations. A Vancouver win is priced at 27 cents per share. 

Flames to win vs. Kings

The Kings have been hot of late, which is good news as they have secured one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference, entering Thursday with 90 points. The Flames, at 75 points, won't be joining L.A. in the playoff, and will instead try to end a lackluster regular season on a high note after dropping seven of its last 10 games. Calgary won two of the previous three meetings this year - both of which came in overtime - and the SportsLine model has the Flames winning in 52% of simulations. A Calgary win over Los Angeles is trading at 43 cents per share. 

Predators to win, or lose by less than 1.5 goals vs. Ducks

The Predators will watch this postseason from home, but their final opponent of the year can't say the same as the Ducks are playoff bound for the first time since the 2017-18 season. The Ducks are hoping to end the year on a high note after losing each of their last two games, while the Preds dropped their most recent affair and are 4-5-1 over their last 10. These Western Conference foes have split their first two meetings this year. The model has the Predators winning outright or losing by less than 1.5 goals in just under 76% of simulations. "No" for Anaheim to win by 1.5 or more goals is 72 cents per share at Kalshi. 

Kraken-Avalanche Over 6.5 total goals

The Avalanche had one of the more incredible starts to any regular season that we've ever seen, and they wrap up their Presidents' Trophy-winning campaign with a home matchup with the Kraken. Colorado scored five goals in each of its first two meetings with Seattle this year, and the SportsLine model's top recommendation is Over 6.5 combined goals, with that occurring in more than 50% of simulations and trading at 46 cents a share.