Mark Lammey
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The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs got started over the weekend with 6 of the 8 series completing their opening games, and to begin the new week, we have the other 2 series getting started alongside a few Game 2’s. That means we have some early bounce-back spots to target as well as some matchups to predict for the first time. So, let’s not waste any time breaking down our best NHL parlay picks for today.
Along with this parlay, also be sure to check out all of our NHL predictions for today’s action!
NHL Parlay Picks (4/22)
Maple Leafs ML (+114)
Golden Knights vs Stars under 5.5 goals (-105)
Oilers -1.5 (-145)
NHL parlay odds: +923
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Toronto Maple Leafs ML over Boston Bruins (+114)
The 1st leg is one of the series that got started on Saturday, which is one I wouldn’t have been surprised to see as an Eastern Conference Finals. Nonetheless, these Original Six teams have to deal with one another early on, and it was the Bruins who got the best of the Leafs in Game 1. Despite the incredible season Auston Matthews had in terms of finding the back of the net, he was unable to do so on Saturday.
It’s difficult to imagine that being the case for most of the games in this series, so whether you believe in the zig-zag theory in the playoffs or not, we’re looking at Toronto bouncing back before the series heads up to Canada. The postseason hasn’t been great for them for quite some time now, but remember, they got over the hump last season by making it past the 1st round. Let’s also not forget that Boston had a 3-1 lead in the 1st round last season before getting eliminated. This series looks set to go at least 6 games, so I’m taking the Leafs to even things up.
Read our full Toronto Maple Leafs vs Boston Bruins predictions
Vegas Golden Knights vs Dallas Stars Under 5.5 (-105)
One of the 2 series that are just getting started features the defending champs taking on the #1 overall seed in the Western Conference. It’s difficult to back Vegas with its injury issues — most notably to captain Mark Stone — but it’s also tough to doubt them after beating the Stars in all 3 meetings this year. Therefore I’m going to focus on the total, which is just as low as we expected it to be.
Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger continues to be among the best in the entire league, and as you can see from most of the scores over the weekend, we tend to have lower-scoring games once the playoffs come around. Everything is at stake, which makes everyone play tighter — and we also saw low-scoring games between these teams in the regular season. Two of their 3 matchups finished with 5 or fewer goals, and in the outlier, Dallas still scored just a single goal. We’re expecting a close 1-goal finish for either side, so rather than sweating out a pick on a winner I’ll go with a low-scoring Game 1.
Read our full Vegas Golden Knights vs Dallas Stars predictions
Edmonton Oilers -1.5 over Los Angeles Kings (+145)
Lastly, I’m focused on the other series that has yet to get underway. It’s a classic Pacific Division clash, as it has been a 1st-round matchup for 3 straight years now. Connor McDavid and the Oilers have won it each of the past 2 years and I expect that trend to continue. That starts with a Game 1 victory tonight, and on home ice, Edmonton can certainly win it by multiple goals. Even if it takes an empty netter with a few seconds left, it’s difficult to doubt this Oilers offense.
Thanks to the likes of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they are the 4th-highest scoring team in the NHL; the Kings simply don’t have the same type of firepower. They lost 3 of 4 games against Edmonton this year, including the 2 that were home games for the Oilers. Not only that, but those were the 2 most recent contests, and better yet, McDavid and company won them both by multiple goals — one of which was just 3 weeks ago, when Edmonton won by 3 goals.
Read our full Los Angeles Kings vs Edmonton Oilers predictions
