The Carolina Hurricanes have secured their spot in the Eastern Conference Final, but there are still three more spots up for grabs.
The Florida Panthers can become the second team to advance tonight when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 5. Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers will need to at least play a Game 6 after tonight’s action.
After betting on very single NHL Playoff game so far, I’m sitting at 38-29-1 for +7.89 units.
Let’s see if we can build on that mark tonight.
Best NHL bets for Friday, May 12
- Panthers +150 vs. Maple Leafs
- Golden Knights +115 vs. Oilers
Panthers +150 vs. Maple Leafs
Despite winning Game 4, I still have no faith in the Maple Leafs to win Game 5, let alone the series.
Their shooting has been atrocious lately. They have scored just two goals in six straight games dating back to Game 5 of the opening round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In this series alone, they have a shooting percentage of only 6.56%. They can’t bank on continuing to win games by a score of 2-1 like they did in Game 4.
The Panthers have also performed better in certain areas during 5-on-5 play. They have a 5-on-5 CORSI% of 52.22%, while the Leafs come in at 47.78%.
Toronto has continuously folded with this group in pressure situations dating back the past six or seven seasons. What makes this series any different? Especially with the top four players, Matthews, Marner, Tavares, and Nylander being largely invisible this series.
I’ll take the Panthers as road underdogs to get the job done tonight.
Golden Knights +115 vs. Oilers
With how the series has played out, I’m surprised to see the Golden Knights available at +115 at home in Game 5.
Vegas has done better in 5-on-5 situations throughout the series, sporting a 5-on-5 expected goals mark of 2.58 per 60 minutes, while the Oilers are coming in at 2.36 expected goals per 60 minutes.
I also have no faith in Stuart Skinner in this postseason. He has an .895 save percentage so far in the playoffs and he has folded in high pressure situations. He almost handed Game 6 to the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, accidently passing the puck to the opponent and giving them a wide open net to score on.
I’ll back the Golden Knights to get the job done as home underdogs tonight.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
