Top 4 NHL Picks & Predictions: Saturday (10/3)
The 2026-27 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season rolls on for the first Saturday of the new season. We’re going to focus on a pair of 10:00 p.m. ET games from the Pacific Division, which are expected to be super close, as the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks tangle, while the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks square off in a Golden State battle. Below are our top NHL picks & predictions for Saturday, October 3rd.
Saturday's Best NHL Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Calgary Flames (-104) at Vancouver Canucks (-115) | O/U 6.5 (+112/-138)
The Flames (0-1-0) and Canucks (1-1-0) tangle on Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. ET at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, as the Canucks play their third game against an Alberta opponent after a home-and-home series with the Edmonton Oilers to start the season.
Calgary opened with a 6-1 beating at the hands of the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night as small favorites (-112), as the over (5.5) cashed. Vancouver split the pair of games with Edmonton, winning 6-5 in overtime on the road, but losing 9-7 in Thursday’s home game, a scoreline that resembled an Edmonton Elks-BC Lions matchup rather than a hockey tilt.
The Flames won the season series in 2025-26, taking two of the three games, and they split the two matchups in British Columbia. The over cashed in all three games, and that sounds like it is going to be a theme all season for the Canucks.
Our top play in Saturday’s game will be the over. We don’t have a lot of information to go on yet, but with a combined 23 goals (7.7 goals per game) in three meetings last season, Calgary cashing high in the opener and Vancouver averaging 13.5 goals per game in its two contests against Edmonton, we have to keep striking while the iron is hot, especially at plus-money odds.
As for the side, the Canucks have been able to light the lamp frequently in the early going, while the Flames looked sorry on home ice against the Kraken. We have to side with the Canucks, based on the information at hand.
Picks: Canucks Moneyline (-115) & Over 6.5 Goals (+112)
Los Angeles Kings (-105) at San Jose Sharks (-114) | O/U 6.5 (+106/-130)
The Kings (0-1-0) and the Sharks (1-0-0) battle at SAP Center in San Jose at 10:00 p.m. ET.
Los Angeles got the post-Anze Kopitar era off on the wrong foot with an 8-4 beating at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Wednesday night as moderate underdogs, while the over (6.5) cashed. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper was under siege all night, allowing eight goals on 29 shots. He’ll likely get a chance to wash the bad taste out of his mouth against the Sharks.
The Sharks surprised the Florida Panthers 4-3 in overtime as slight underdogs (+124), as the over (6.5) cashed. Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov couldn’t protect a 3-0 lead, and the offense, led by Will Smith, did well early. Smith’s goals were shorthanded and on the power play. Luca Cagnoni saved Askarov with an overtime winner, though, as the Over cashed.
These California rivals met three times last season, with all three games decided by a single goal. All three games were decided by a 4-3 score, too, with one regulation game going to the Kings, one at home decided by a shootout and one on the road decided in overtime. The over has cashed in six straight in the series since October 29th, 2024.
We’re going to take advantage of the over at plus-money odds, similar to the game above, and let’s roll with the Sharks to get the job done again. They looked good in their initial game, while the Kings were a disaster.