NHL Playoffs Best Bets, Picks & Predictions: Sunday (5/7)
Three games tonight, and a couple of them are crucial. Two games with one team holding a 2-0 advantage, and we know that going down 3-0 is presumably the kiss of death.
Sunday’s Best NHL Bets
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Carolina Hurricanes (+108) at New Jersey Devils (-130) | O/U 5.5 (+104/-126)
The Hurricanes had no problem handling the Devils through the first two games. They’ve been getting excellent opportunities at the net and had a 55% expected goals rate in these two wins.
The Hurricanes will continue to roll with Frederik Andersen in the crease as Antti Raanta remains out with an illness, but even when he returns, Andersen should remain the goalie. He’s been excellent in his last three games with a .963 save percentage and 0.97 GAA.
The Devils find themselves in familiar territory. While they know about being down 2-0, the Hurricanes are not the Rangers. Carolina is faster, stronger, and more balanced.
Akira Schmid’s magic might be running out. The New Jersey rookie goaltender was pulled from Games 1 & 2, and we could see Vitek Vanecek starting in this important game.
If the offense was going to struggle with the Canes missing a couple of important skaters, they would have lost against the Islanders. That roster is deep, and neither Schmid nor Vanecek will have an answer.
Pick: Hurricanes Moneyline (+108)
Toronto Maple Leafs (-134) at Florida Panthers (+112) | O/U 6.5 (-132/+108)
The Panthers are continuing this magical run as they head home with a 2-0 lead. The offense continues to be electric, and they were able to out-skate Boston and now Toronto. You need to credit Sergei Bobrovsky, who struggled in the regular season but has turned it on in the playoffs with 5.7 goals saved above expected.
Toronto isn’t playing bad hockey at the moment, in fact, according to the metrics, they’ve been the better. They only have four fewer shots and hold the expected goal advantage, but as mentioned, Bobrovsky is playing like a former Vezina Trophy winner.
Just like in the first series, I expect the Leafs to start finding the net, but I don’t think the Panthers will slow down. This is a great time to take the over.
Pick: Over 6.5 (-132)
Dallas Stars (-146) at Seattle Kraken (+122) | O/U 5.5 (-108/-112)
Dallas managed fine against Winnipeg without Joe Pavelski, but Seattle is a much better offense, so they are glad to have him back, and he has five goals in this series. They also got a bounce-back performance from Jake Oettinger and the Dallas blue line as they kept Seattle from getting any shots near the net.
Dallas tightened their defense, but Seattle didn’t, and they have allowed 35+ shots and four goals in back-to-back games. Philipp Grubauer has been playing well above how he performed in the regular. Even with the last two games, he has 3.5 goals saved above expected, but in the regular season, that was -0.7. Going back to Martin Jones wouldn’t be an upgrade, so they might stick with him.
You have to wonder if Grubauer playing his old team motivated him to play better. Dallas improved significantly in Game 2, plus I’ll always side with Oettinger between the pipes.
Pick: Stars 60 Min Moneyline (+110)
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