NHL Picks

The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning will contest a crucial Game 5 in their Eastern Conference first-round series on Wednesday night in Tampa. With all to play for at 2-2, my Canadiens vs Lighting pick is Under 5.5. To say that this has been a defensive-minded series would be an understatement. There have not been any shutouts — not even close — but there also haven’t been any scoring binges. Three consecutive matchups have ended with 3-2 scorelines, including 2 that went into overtime at 2-2. Only Game 1 produced more than 5 goals, and the 7 scored in Montreal’s 4-3 series-opening win were largely due to powerplays. A whopping 5 came with the man advantage. In fact, just 13 goals have been scored at 5-on-5 through 4 games; that’s 3.25 per game. If the 2 sides can stay out of the sin bin, another low-scoring affair should be in the cards.

Montreal’s defense has been outstanding in front of goalie Jakub Dobes. Only once has the 24-year-old Czech seen more than 23 shots, and Tampa Bay has put a total of just 37 shots on net over the past 2 contests. Similarly, the Canadiens’ attack has been reduced to fewer than 20 shots on 2 of the 4 occasions. Bolts veteran goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has been stellar, which is nothing new for him in the playoffs. The 2-time Stanley Cup winner has allowed just 6 regulation goals over the last 3 games. This comes on the heels of a regular season in which Vasilevskiy went 39-15-4 with a 2.31 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. He is a big reason why Habs star Cole Caufield, who was responsible for 51 goals and 37 points this season, has been held to only 1 goal in this series and just 2 total points in the past 3 outings.

Canadiens vs Lightning prediction: Under 5.5 (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Sabres put together a dominating performance in Game 4 on Sunday, cruising to a 6-1 win over the Bruins. Now the series moves back to Buffalo with the Sabres looking to close it out. Buffalo jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 1st period, but it will be interesting to see how they move back to Buffalo impacts their offensive attack. In the first 2 games of the series at KeyBank Center, the Sabres were only able to score goals in the 3rd period. They were held to zero goal across the first 2 periods in both games, and after such an embarrassing performance on Sunday, the Bruins are sure to be much ore defense-minded in this contest.

Offensively, the Bruins have now been held to just 2 total goals over the last 2 games of this series. They can’t seem to muster up much of anything, and the Buffalo defense has been great at limiting Grade A chances. Out of 16 playoff teams, the Bruins rank 14th averaging just 24.0 shots on goal per game. On the other side, Buffalo’s power play is still not clicking, as they are the only team still without a goal on the man advantage in the postseason. All in all, it would be a bit surprising to see a high-scoring game in this one. With a total of 6, look to the under.

Bruins vs Sabres Game 5 prediction: Under 6 (-120) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars lace ‘em up for a critical Game 5 in their first round NHL series. This series has gone back and forth as expected between these 2 powerful Central Division teams, with the winner of this game being just 1 victory away from advancing. It is time to get you set for the action with our Wild vs. Stars prediction.

After losing 2 straight games, the Wild achieved what needed to be done in a Game 4 win, evening the series. They now own the momentum in the series, and I see them carrying it. While the may be on the road, Minnesota has already shown they can storm an opposing building with confidence, shown by a 6-1 win in Dallas in Game 1. Both Mats Zuccarello and Yakov Trenin are both on pace to play in Game 5, which is a major boost to an already strong lineup, with the 2 combining for just 3 games played in the series. Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt has outplayed Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger for most of the series, and Oettinger now has the added pressure to perform well on home ice. Meanwhile, Dallas also awaits to see offensive contributions from key players in Jamie Benn, Thomas Harley and Mavrik Bourque, who have combined for 0 points in 12 man games played. Minnesota has a ton of positives heading into this one, and we are taking them on the money line for our Wild vs. Stars prediction.

Wild vs Stars prediction: Wild ML (+110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -115.

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The Edmonton Oilers are looking to avoid elimination against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. This series has produced the highest total goals scored, and that trend is expected to continue tonight. It hasn’t really mattered who is in goal for either team; goals have been scored consistently.

Edmonton is coming off a tough overtime loss due to a controversial goal, but that isn’t its biggest concern. While Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have performed adequately, they have not shown the level of excellence fans have come to expect. The Oilers’ depth has been tested, and their defence remains a significant concern. We may see Tristan Jarry start in goal again, although he was decent in Game 4; his overall performance since joining Edmonton has been poor.

On the other hand, Anaheim has had little trouble generating shots and scoring chances. They have received offensive contributions from nearly all their players, including solid production from their defense. Expect another exciting game with plenty of goals.

Oilers vs Ducks prediction: Over 7.0 (-105) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number or better.

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