Parlays

The Stanley Cup playoffs get underway on Saturday afternoon as the Carolina Hurricanes will be hosting the Ottawa Senators to lead things off. As winners of the Eastern Conference, the Hurricanes will have the home ice advantage in this series. This is important because they are were tied for the most regular season wins on home ice by any team. Their record at the Lenovo Center this season was 29-10-2. These teams split the regular season series, each winning one game. The Senators are among the most popular picks to pull off a first-round upset. However, I am still worried about their defensive play and goaltending. After all Linus Ullmark went through this season, he finished very strong. If this solid play continues into the playoffs, the Senators stand a real chance to beat the Hurricanes. Ullmark has not been good in the playoffs throughout his career, as he has a 5-10-0 record in 15 starts, with a 3.28 GAA and .885 SVP. The Senators will not be able to score their way through this series as the Hurricanes were the 5th-best defensive team in the league during the regular season, averaging 2.88 goals against per game.

The Hurricanes play a very fast and aggressive forechecking style of game that I think is going to wear down the Senators defense as this series progresses. I expect some nerves in the first game from Ullmark and the Senators, and the veteran lineup of the Hurricanes should be able to capitalize on this. Give me the Hurricanes to get it done in the opening game of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Senators vs. Hurricanes prediction: Hurricanes ML (-150) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs will finally be underway for the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild when the puck drops on Saturday afternoon. The Stars have the home ice advantage in this very evenly matched first round matchup and I believe it will help give the Stars an edge. These 2 teams split the regular season series with two wins apiece. Both of these teams are very good on the defensive side of the puck. They both ranked inside the top 5 teams in the NHL for goals against. The Wild ranked fourth, averaging 2.87 goals against per game and the Stars were the second-best team in that category, averaging 2.71 goals against per game. Both starting netminders had impressive regular season numbers, Jesper Wallstedt of the Wild had a 2.62 GAA, while Jake Oettinger for the Stars has a 2.59 GAA.

I expect these teams to ease themselves into the playoffs with a buttoned up defensive first period as neither team will want to be the first to make a mistake. Playoff games are typically lower scoring, and I think that is what we will see in game one between the Stars and Wild. Give me the under in this one.

Wild vs. Stars prediction: Under 5.5 (+105) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins will begin their best-of-7 first-round series in the Stanley Cup playoffs when they clash in Game 1 in Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Don’t be alarmed by the Penguins’ 3-game losing streak to end the regular season — they had already clinched a playoff spot and home-ice advantage in round 1 prior to that skid. The Pens had previously won 3 in a row before pretty much waving the white flag on the remainder of the regular season. When motivated, this club has been playing good hockey. The Flyers, on the other hand, emptied the tank with a late surge to clinch their first playoff appearance since 2019-20 earlier this week. Although plenty of days off helps, it’s still an advantage for Pittsburgh to have basically rested while Philadelphia was making an emotionally draining push for the playoffs. That’s part of the reason why my Flyers vs Penguins pick is Pittsburgh on the money.

It should also be noted that their split of the 4-game regular-season series hardly tells the real story. The Flyers picked up both of their wins in shootouts; the Pens dominated their 2 victorious contests by a combined 11-4 margin. For those counting, that means (not including shootouts) Pittsburgh outscored Philly by 7 goals in the 4 head-to-head encounters. Sidney Crosby heads into another playoff campaign having recorded multiple assists in 3 of his last 4 outings. In the series opener, I’m backing Crosby and the rest of the Penguins’ veterans to ride their experience to a hard-fought victory over an upstart Flyers squad.

Flyers vs Penguins prediction: Pittsburgh ML (-142) available at time of publishing. Playable to -150.

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