NHL Best Bets

Last night was another big night for the Eastern Conference Finals as we went 3-0 on the NHL best bets for the evening. I have a ton of faith in the goaltenders in that series between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers. Igor Shesterkin and Sergei Bobrovsky have been phenomenal. 

That said, I don’t have nearly as much faith in Stuart Skinner or Jake Oettinger in the West, and I don’t normally do this, but I’m taking a different approach for tonight’s Game Five in Dallas. 

 

Edmonton at Dallas (-130, 6)

For the last three games in a row in this series, both teams have come out of the gate firing on offense in the opening period. Dallas is having a hard time controlling Edmonton’s speed and pace of play. Tonight, there is a strong chance the Stars will be missing Chris Tanev on their blue line. That is a pretty big hole to fill for Dallas if he is out. 

Edmonton did not like their start to Game Four on Wednesday night as they fell behind 2-0 in the opening five and a half minutes of the game. Tonight, the first period will be a major focus for the Oilers as they seek to take the Dallas crowd out of the game early. On the flip side, the Stars are hoping to get the same exact start that they had in the previous contest, but to do a better job at sustaining that. 

Wyatt Johnston is starting to heat up for Dallas with goals in back-to-back games, but the Oilers just continue to get massive offensive production from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl who are nearly impossible to slow down. Edmonton is also getting some secondary scoring now from Ryan McLeod and even a shorthanded goal from Mattias Janmark. The Oilers’ penalty kill has now out-scored their power play in this series, what a world we are living in. 

I don’t expect any type of feeling-out process in Game Five. These teams have both had very hot starts and know exactly what to expect from one another. 

We’ve seen a lot of back and forth in the opening periods of this series, and I think we will see something similar this evening. I don’t do this often, but tonight I’m feeling some goals in the opening frame.

NHL Best Bet: Over 1.5 goals in the first period -120 (play to -130)

May Record: 39-24 (+13.97 units)

2023-24 record: 192–175 (-14.72 units)

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