NHL Slate Analysis — Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Wednesday, November 4, 2026 · NHL
The NHL slate for Wednesday, November 4, 2026 has 4 games, the first at 6:30 PM CT. AiQ has a moneyline pick on all 4. 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
Ottawa Senators at Buffalo Sabres
6:30 PM CT at KeyBank Center. Averaged over the outcomes the betting lines imply, the projected score is Ottawa Senators 3, Buffalo Sabres 4. That is an average, not a pick.
The Buffalo Sabres have won 7 of their 14 games this season, winning the last three. The Ottawa Senators have won 9 of their 16 games this season, winning two of the last five. When these teams last met, on April 2, 2026, the Ottawa Senators won 4-1 at home.
Matchups to watch.
- The probable starting goalies are Samuel Ersson (not yet confirmed, .866 save percentage in the 2026-27 season) for the Ottawa Senators and Colten Ellis (not yet confirmed, .880 save percentage in the 2026-27 season) for the Buffalo Sabres.
- Weakness against weakness on the power play. The Ottawa Senators scored on 12.5% of their power plays this season, the 3rd lowest in the NHL, and the Buffalo Sabres allowed opponents to score on 31.4% of their power plays, the 4th highest.
- Moneyline: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives Buffalo Sabres a 54.4% chance to beat Ottawa Senators. AiQ's moneyline pick is the side the consensus favors. The best price, -125 at BetRivers, is priced below the fair price of -119 (−2.0% value).
- Total: The betting market, with the margin removed, puts the over 6.5 goals at 52.1% and the under at 47.9%. 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, 6.7 goals, sits on the 6.5 line.
- Puck line: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives Ottawa Senators +1.5 a 67.0% chance to cover and Buffalo Sabres -1.5 33.0%. AiQ's read matches the market price, so AiQ has no edge on the puck line.
Trends in play.
Against the puck line, the records pull in opposite directions. The Buffalo Sabres failed to cover the puck line in 5 of 6 games as favorites this season. Meanwhile, the Ottawa Senators failed to cover the puck line in 7 of their last 10 games.
Chicago Blackhawks at Florida Panthers
6:30 PM CT at Amerant Bank Arena. Averaged over the outcomes the betting lines imply, the projected score is Chicago Blackhawks 2, Florida Panthers 4. That is an average, not a pick.
The Chicago Blackhawks have won 4 of their 15 games this season, losing the last three. The Florida Panthers have won 8 of their 15 games this season, winning three of the last five. When these teams last met, on October 25, 2026, the Florida Panthers won 3-2 on the road. This is their second meeting this season.
Matchups to watch.
- The probable starting goalies are Spencer Knight (not yet confirmed, .894 save percentage in the 2026-27 season) for the Chicago Blackhawks and Jacob Markstrom (not yet confirmed, .890 save percentage in the 2026-27 season) for the Florida Panthers.
- An uphill climb in shots. The Chicago Blackhawks averaged 23.1 shots on goal per game this season, the 2nd fewest in the NHL, and the Florida Panthers allowed 24.5 shots on goal per game, tied for the 3rd fewest.
- Moneyline: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives Florida Panthers a 69.8% chance to beat Chicago Blackhawks. AiQ's moneyline pick is the side the consensus favors. The best price, -240 at BetRivers, is priced below the fair price of -231 (−1.1% value).
- Total: The betting market, with the margin removed, puts the over 6 goals at 49.7% and the under at 50.3%. 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, 6.2 goals, sits on the 6 line.
- Puck line: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives Chicago Blackhawks +1.5 a 52.9% chance to cover and Florida Panthers -1.5 47.1%. That is near a coin flip, and AiQ's read is the market's own, so AiQ has no edge on the puck line.
Trends in play.
Recent results against the puck line back the Chicago Blackhawks, the underdog here. The Florida Panthers failed to cover the puck line in 7 of 10 games as favorites this season.
San Jose Sharks at Los Angeles Kings
9:00 PM CT at crypto.com Arena. Averaged over the outcomes the betting lines imply, the projected score is San Jose Sharks 3, Los Angeles Kings 4. That is an average, not a pick.
The San Jose Sharks have won 7 of their 16 games this season, winning one of the last five. The Los Angeles Kings have won 4 of their 13 games this season, winning two of the last five. The Los Angeles Kings come in with more rest: their last game was on October 31, four days before this one, while the San Jose Sharks played two days before. When these teams last met, on October 3, 2026, the San Jose Sharks won 5-4 at home. This is their second meeting this season.
Matchups to watch.
- The probable starting goalies are Yaroslav Askarov (not yet confirmed, .901 save percentage in the 2026-27 season) for the San Jose Sharks and Darcy Kuemper (not yet confirmed, .877 save percentage in the 2026-27 season) for the Los Angeles Kings.
- Weakness against weakness in scoring. The San Jose Sharks averaged 2.56 goals per game this season, the 6th fewest in the NHL, and the Los Angeles Kings allowed 3.46 goals per game, the 8th most.
- Moneyline: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives Los Angeles Kings a 59.0% chance to beat San Jose Sharks. AiQ's moneyline pick is the side the consensus favors. The best price, -148 at BetRivers, is priced below the fair price of -144 (−1.1% value).
- Total: The betting market, with the margin removed, puts the over 6.5 goals at 46.1% and the under at 53.9%. 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, 6.4 goals, sits on the 6.5 line.
- Puck line: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives San Jose Sharks +1.5 a 62.9% chance to cover and Los Angeles Kings -1.5 37.1%. AiQ's read matches the market price, so AiQ has no edge on the puck line.
Trends in play.
Against the puck line, the records pull in opposite directions. The San Jose Sharks failed to cover the puck line in 5 straight games. Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks covered the puck line in 3 of the last 4 meetings with the Los Angeles Kings.
The total pulls both ways. Each of the last 4 meetings between the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks went over the total. Meanwhile, the last 4 games involving the San Jose Sharks went under the total. The Los Angeles Kings went under the total in 4 of 5 home games this season.
Calgary Flames at Seattle Kraken
9:00 PM CT at Climate Pledge Arena. Averaged over the outcomes the betting lines imply, the projected score is Calgary Flames 3, Seattle Kraken 3. That is an average, not a pick.
The Calgary Flames have won 7 of their 15 games this season, winning three of the last five. The Seattle Kraken have won 8 of their 14 games this season, winning three of the last five. The Seattle Kraken come in with more rest: their last game was on October 30, five days before this one, while the Calgary Flames played two days before. When these teams last met, on October 30, 2026, the Calgary Flames won 6-2 at home. This is their fourth meeting this season.
Matchups to watch.
- The probable starting goalies are Dustin Wolf (not yet confirmed, .862 save percentage in the 2026-27 season) for the Calgary Flames and Philipp Grubauer (not yet confirmed, .886 save percentage in the 2026-27 season) for the Seattle Kraken.
- Mismatch on the power play. The Calgary Flames scored on 30.6% of their power plays this season, the 5th highest in the NHL, and the Seattle Kraken allowed opponents to score on 35.9% of their power plays, the 2nd highest.
- Weakness against weakness in shots. The Seattle Kraken averaged 25.2 shots on goal per game this season, the 6th fewest in the NHL, and the Calgary Flames allowed 29.9 shots on goal per game, the 5th most.
- Moneyline: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives Seattle Kraken a 56.1% chance to beat Calgary Flames. AiQ's moneyline pick is the side the consensus favors. The best price, -134 at FanDuel, is priced below the fair price of -128 (−2.0% value).
- Total: The betting market, with the margin removed, puts the over 6.5 goals at 46.3% and the under at 53.7%. 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, 6.4 goals, sits on the 6.5 line.
- Puck line: The betting market, with the margin removed, gives Calgary Flames +1.5 a 66.4% chance to cover and Seattle Kraken -1.5 33.6%. AiQ's read matches the market price, so AiQ has no edge on the puck line.
Trends in play.
Everything points over on the total. The Seattle Kraken went over the total in 8 of their last 10 games. Of the last 5 meetings between the Seattle Kraken and the Calgary Flames, 4 went over the total.
Against the puck line, the records pull in opposite directions. The Seattle Kraken covered the puck line in 7 of their last 10 games. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames covered the puck line 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.