Ryan Hodges
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What a great first night of the conference quarterfinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Monday. It was a bit surprising in terms of the outcomes of a couple of the games but the action did not disappoint. It just felt great to watch playoff hockey action again!
The second night features the Stanley Cup favorites from each conference and a few teams looking to play spoiler. And what better way to celebrate the return of the playoffs than with a mega parlay? For Tuesday’s parlay, we have combined picks from 3 of the 4 games for a payout of just under 11/1 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Pittsburgh Penguins (+110) over New York Rangers
Washington Capitals vs Florida Panthers Over 6.5 (-110)
Calgary Flames -2.5 (+195) over Dallas Stars
Parlay odds: +1082
Pittsburgh Penguins (+110) over New York Rangers
Anytime Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are plus money, there is inherently good value. Sure, the Rangers are the favorite. But would it surprise anyone if a team that has those guys leading the charge won outright as an underdog? Probably not. The Rangers had a great season, one that was probably a year ahead of schedule of their anticipated return to the playoffs. They have a very young, largely inexperienced roster for this hopeful playoff run. For the Penguins, this game is just status quo. Another ho-hum playoff game. It won’t be easy. But they know that because they have the playoff experience and pedigree.
Pittsburgh’s veterans will set the tone and bring a calmness to the Penguins’ locker room and bench that will be hard for the Rangers to capture. Expect some jitters on the New York side as Pittsburgh will try to capitalize on Rangers’ nervous energy and force some mistakes. The Penguins scored more than the Rangers in the regular season, they were also top 5 in the NHL in goal prevention, they had a much better shot differential, they scored more 5 on 5, and had a better goal differential per game. Not much separates these teams and this will be a great series. Pittsburgh’s pedigree and experience give them an edge in Game 1 while New York settles in.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers
Washington Capitals vs Florida Panthers Over 6.5 (-110)
If there is anything these teams do well, it’s score. They both had strong offensive numbers and middling goal prevention numbers this season. The winner of this series is going to get the job done by way of winning high-scoring games, as opposed to keeping the opponent from scoring and winning a slugfest. In the season series between the Capitals and Panthers, the over hit all 3 times as the games averaged 8.33 goals, 68 shots on goal, and 5.67 power plays. Panthers games averaged 7.06 total goals per game and 7.56 total goals per home game. The Panthers are expected to control the game so they will likely also control the totals. That means plenty of goals.
The over/under record for Capitals games this season was 47-31-4 and for Panthers games was 46-30-6. The over hit in the majority of their games both home and on the road as well. The Capitals have gone over in 11 of their last 14 road games and this sets up to continue that trend. Overall, two good offenses matched up against weaker defenses looks great for both teams to continue these strong over trends.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Washington Capitals vs Florida Panthers
Calgary Flames -2.5 (+195) over Dallas Stars
On Monday night, 3 of the 4 games had a final score separated by 4+ goals. That’s bizarre considering the caliber of teams that were matched up on Monday’s slate. If there is potential for another lopsided game, it should be Calgary taking care Dallas. The Flames just flat out outmatch this Stars team. Calgary won the season series over Dallas going 2-0-1. They finished 3rd in the West with a +85 goal differential while Dallas was a beneficiary of a weaker conference down the stretch. The Stars managed to finish 7th in the West with 98 points and a -8 goal differential. They are the only playoff team with a negative goal differential. Granted, the Stars found a way and they could prove people wrong. However, looking around the rest of the playoffs, it doesn’t look like they quite belong.
Calgary allowed the 3rd fewest goals in the NHL this season which presents a good matchup as Dallas ranked 21st in the league in scoring. Dallas’ leading scorer would be 4th on Calgary as the Flames roster had 138 more points than the Stars roster. The Flames have a strong statistical advantage in: goals scored, goals allowed, goal differential, shot differential, power play, penalty kill, save percentage, hit differential and team plus minus. This is a lopsided one on paper, and Calgary will look to execute and prove it.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Dallas Stars vs Calgary Flames
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