The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs concluded on Sunday. Less than a week later, there is an opportunity for handshakes to wrap up the first series of the second round. The Flyers will do everything they can to make sure that does not happen. After that game, it will be the Wild looking to avoid the same fate just a couple days from now. Saturday marks a huge game for Philadelphia and Minnesota, while Carolina and Colorado look to keep the status quo.
If you will be tuning in and want to have some action, I picked out my NHL best bets for Saturday, May 9, and will analyze each pick for you now. You can also get our expert NHL predictions for both games tonight and EVERY matchup throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
NHL best bet: Hurricanes 3-way ML (-110)
What can be said about the Hurricanes that has not already been said? This is just a good team that is taking care of business. Carolina is now 7-0 in these playoffs and has shown no sign of slowing down. After surviving a bit of a scare in game 2 at home, the Hurricanes bounced back with a suffocating, convincing win in game 3 on the road. This is not to say the Flyers are a bad team. Their opponent has just been that good.
The strong form of the Hurricanes is not out of nowhere. They have an 8-game winning streak and 11 wins in their last 12 going back to the end of the season. Carolina also has 6 wins in their last 7 road games. Head to head, the numbers are even stronger as the Hurricanes have won 11 out of the last 12 played against the Flyers. This postseason, Carolina has now outscored their opponents 21-8, including 10-4 on the road. Beyond the numbers, they pass the eye test too. This team is just buzzing and giving their opponents close to nothing. They look fast, but composed and experienced. A regulation win gives the Hurricanes better value for what has the makings of a sweep.
NHL best bet: Kirill Kaprizov over 3.5 shots on goal (+105)
The Wild looked phenomenal in their opening round series against the Stars. After 2 games and a couple key injuries, they look like a shell of their prior-series version. Minnesota has allowed 14 goals in the first 2 games of this series. Even if they were scoring at their highest average of the year, it would not be even close to the 7 goal per game average they are allowing at the moment. All of that to say, the Wild are now a desperate team. Desperate teams tend to do a few things in big games. One such thing is emphasizing getting pucks on net.
The situation Minnesota finds themselves in lends to a game script in which they will do anything they can to generate offense. In that case, Kirill Kaprizov is as good of a forward as any to create offense. Kaprizov led Minnesota in goals and points this year with 45 and 89 respectively. That goes along with a +10 rating, over 22 minutes of ice-time per game which leads Minnesota forwards, and a team-leading 268 shots on goal. The Wild have scored a respectable 8 goals through 2 series games. The offensive chances are there. If they can lock in the defensive side of the puck and hold to their offensive averages, they will give themselves a chance. Look for Kaprizov to step up his game and be more deliberate about putting the puck on net to generate chances.
Click here to add us to your Google preferred sources and never miss a story
