There are three Game 7s on Saturday. We’re in for an action-packed slate of Stanley Cup Playoff hockey! Read on for our picks, predictions, and best bets.
It’s do-or-die time for six teams. Five of the eight first-round series are going the distance, starting with three on Saturday.
Home-ice advantage has been the difference for the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina hosts Boston to kick off the slate at 4:30 p.m. ET.
It’s been a back-and-forth series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto looks to win its first playoff series since 2004 at 7 p.m. ET.
Finally, the Edmonton Oilers forced Game 7 and look to avoid losing in the first round for the second straight year. They host the Los Angeles Kings at 10 p.m. ET.
Here are our best bets for Saturday’s NHL slate (odds via BetMGM, DraftKings Sportsbook, and FanDuel Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Saturday’s NHL Schedule and Odds
(Odds via DraftKings)
- Boston Bruins (+115) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (-135)
- Tampa Bay Lightning (+105) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (-125)
- Los Angeles Kings (+170) vs. Edmonton Oilers (-210)
Saturday’s NHL Best Bets
- Moneyline: Hurricanes (-132 via FanDuel) ★★★★
- Spread: Kings +1.5 (-140 via DraftKings) ★★★
- Upset: Lightning (+105 via DraftKings) ★★★
- Total: Lightning-Maple Leafs Over 6.5 (-110 via DraftKings) ★★★
- Prop bet: Lightning first period -0.5 (+180 via BetMGM) ★★★
- Parlay: Kings +2.5 + Under 6.5 (+130 via DraftKings) ★★★
SEE ALSO: Stanley Cup Playoffs Odds and Picks
Saturday’s NHL Top Picks
Moneyline: Hurricanes (-135)
The home team has won every game in this series, and it hasn’t been close. The away team is being outscored 29-10, and Carolina has outscored Boston 15-4 at home.
Dating back to the regular season, the Hurricanes are 6-3-0 against the Bruins, including 4-0-0 at home. Carolina has been one of the best teams in the league all season long, and its home-ice advantage should pay off in Game 7.
The Hurricanes are 32-8-4 at home, while the Bruins are 25-16-3 on the road.
Spread: Kings +1.5 (-140)
The Kings have given the Oilers everything they have in this series. Los Angeles has been a pesky team all season long as it battled through injuries to make the playoffs. It failed to close out the series in Game 6, but this should be a close one in Game 7.
Los Angeles played a lot of close games in the regular season. The Kings are 34-18 as +1.5 underdogs while the Oilers are just 26-35 as puck line favorites.
Jonathan Quick and the experienced Kings should at least keep it close against the Oilers. I could see another overtime game to finish the series.
Upset: Lightning (+105)
Both of these teams have been here before, and they’ve each had very different outcomes. The Lightning are the reigning two-time Stanley Cup champions and fended off elimination in Game 6 despite a third-period deficit. On the other hand, the Maple Leafs have a history of losing in the first round, as they haven’t won a playoff series since 2004.
History aside, I like the Lightning at plus-odds in Game 7. They won Game 2 in Toronto and played a great Game 5 on the road, as well. I can’t trust the Maple Leafs in a Game 7, especially as favorites. Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Bolts have the upper hand.
Total: Lightning-Maple Leafs Over 6.5 (-110)
The last five games in this series have all gone Over the total after a 5-0 Leafs win in Game 1. The last two have been 4-3 final scores after a few goal totals of eight and 10 earlier in the series.
This should be another back-and-forth game. Both sides are capable of scoring goals in bunches, and we’ve seen that in this series. There has been a three-goal period in each game this series, including a four-goal period in the last three (and four of five).
Prop: Lightning first period -0.5 (+180)
Tampa Bay has outscored Toronto 7-3 in the first period this series, winning four of the six opening frames. Ondrej Palat scored the lone first-period goal on Thursday night, the Bolts took an early 2-0 lead in Toronto in Game 5, and a three-goal first period propelled them to a 7-3 win in Game 4.
The Lightning have outscored the opposition 51-29 in the first period over the last three postseasons. They should come out hot in a high-pressure game in Toronto, and given the recent games, I love this play at +180.
Parlay: Kings +2.5 + Under 6.5 (+130)
I’m going with a same-game parlay on Saturday. This is a combination that has been profitable in the playoffs when targeting close games. I still like the Kings +1.5, but adding the Under 6.5 to get the empty-net goal insurance on a 4-2 loss is worth it.
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NHL best bets made on 5/14/2022 at 12:56 a.m. ET.
The post NHL Best Bets Today: Playoff Matchups, Odds, Picks, and Predictions appeared first on Picks.
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