NHL Slate Analysis — Sunday, October 18, 2026
Sunday, October 18, 2026 · NHL
These games have been played. Picks and prices, where shown, are AiQ's from before each game started. See how they finished in the NHL recaps.
The NHL slate for Sunday, October 18, 2026 has 2 games, the first at 5:00 PM CT. AiQ has a moneyline pick on all 2. None of AiQ's picks on this slate has a price on record above fair value. Each price is the one AiQ valued the pick at when it last priced the game.
Every game
Columbus Blue Jackets at Minnesota Wild
5:00 PM CT at Grand Casino Arena. Averaged over the outcomes the betting lines imply, the projected score is Columbus Blue Jackets 3, Minnesota Wild 4. That is an average, not a pick.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have won 3 of their 6 games this season. The Minnesota Wild have won 5 of their 8 games this season, winning three of the last five. The Minnesota Wild come in with more rest: their last game was on October 15, three days before this one, while the Columbus Blue Jackets played the day before. When these teams last met, on December 18, 2025, the Minnesota Wild won 5-2 on the road.
Matchups to watch.
- The probable starting goalies are Cam Talbot (confirmed) for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Jesper Wallstedt (confirmed, .920 save percentage in the 2026-27 season) for the Minnesota Wild.
- An uphill climb on the power play. The Columbus Blue Jackets scored on 13.3% of their power plays this season, the 6th lowest in the NHL, and the Minnesota Wild allowed opponents to score on 11.5% of their power plays, the 5th lowest.
- Mismatch on the power play. The Minnesota Wild scored on 33.3% of their power plays this season, the 2nd highest in the NHL, and the Columbus Blue Jackets allowed opponents to score on 33.3% of their power plays, the 4th highest.
- Moneyline: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives Minnesota Wild a 63.6% chance to beat Columbus Blue Jackets. AiQ's moneyline pick is the side the consensus favors. The best price, -185 at BetMGM, is priced below the fair price of -175 (−2.0% value).
- Total: The betting market, with the margin removed, puts the over 6.5 goals at 47.6% and the under at 52.4%. That is near a coin flip, and AiQ's read is the market's own, so AiQ has no edge on the total. AiQ's projected total, 6.5 goals, sits on the 6.5 line.
- Puck line: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives Columbus Blue Jackets +1.5 a 59.2% chance to cover and Minnesota Wild -1.5 40.8%. AiQ's read matches the market price, so AiQ has no edge on the puck line.
Trends in play.
Recent results against the puck line back the Minnesota Wild. The Columbus Blue Jackets failed to cover the puck line in 5 straight games.
Carolina Hurricanes at Calgary Flames
7:00 PM CT at Scotiabank Saddledome. Averaged over the outcomes the betting lines imply, the projected score is Carolina Hurricanes 4, Calgary Flames 3. That is an average, not a pick.
The Carolina Hurricanes have won 7 of their 9 games this season, winning the last seven. The Calgary Flames have won 1 of their 7 games this season. The Calgary Flames come in with more rest: their last game was on October 15, three days before this one, while the Carolina Hurricanes played the day before. When these teams last met, on March 7, 2026, the Calgary Flames won 5-4 at home.
Matchups to watch.
- The probable starting goalies are Brandon Bussi (confirmed, .871 save percentage in the 2026-27 season) for the Carolina Hurricanes and Devin Cooley (confirmed) for the Calgary Flames.
- Mismatch in scoring. The Carolina Hurricanes averaged 3.78 goals per game this season, tied for the 4th most in the NHL, and the Calgary Flames allowed 5.00 goals per game, the most.
- An uphill climb in scoring. The Calgary Flames averaged 2.00 goals per game this season, tied for the 2nd fewest in the NHL, and the Carolina Hurricanes allowed 2.33 goals per game, the 5th fewest.
- Moneyline: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives Carolina Hurricanes a 67.0% chance to beat Calgary Flames. AiQ's moneyline pick is the side the consensus favors. The price on record, -218, is priced below the fair price of -203 (−2.2% value).
- Total: The betting market, with the margin removed, puts the over 6.5 goals at 45.7% and the under at 54.3%. That is near a coin flip, and AiQ's read is the market's own, so AiQ has no edge on the total. AiQ's projected total, 6.3 goals, sits on the 6.5 line.
- Puck line: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives Carolina Hurricanes -1.5 a 44.5% chance to cover and Calgary Flames +1.5 55.5%. AiQ's read matches the market price, so AiQ has no edge on the puck line.
Trends in play.
Recent results against the puck line back the Carolina Hurricanes. The Calgary Flames failed to cover the puck line in 4 of 5 games as underdogs this season.
Recent totals lean under. The Calgary Flames went under the total in 7 of their last 10 games.
These come from the closing lines of this season and last. They are context, not the reason for AiQ's picks, and the books price them in.