Mark Lammey
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As the weekend wraps up and the Stanley Cup playoffs approach, the NHL has a solid 5-game slate for us to enjoy. It can certainly become more difficult to handicap games with each team having different levels of motivation, but I’m still locked in with my best NHL predictions for today. I have a pick using the standard markets alongside a player prop, so let’s break down each one.
Along with our best NHL predictions, be sure to check out all of our NHL picks for today’s action.
Avalanche vs Golden Knights Under 6.5 (-115)
Under 6.5 at -115 available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
One of the earlier matchups for today is what could be a Western Conference Finals preview. In fact, it looked to be the most likely one last season before the Colorado Avalanche were shockingly eliminated by the Seattle Kraken. Regardless, these are the 2 most recent Stanley Cup champions — so it’s a great matchup to enjoy on the final Sunday of the regular season. The results between these teams have been quite polarizing, as we have seen shutout victories in each of the last 3 contests — with the Avs winning 2 of them.
So, rather than sweating out whose turn it is to take today’s game, I’m focusing on what has been a trend when these 2 teams take the ice against one another. That would be low-scoring games. Over their last 5, 4 of them have finished with 5 or fewer goals — including 2 with just 3 total goals scored. Whether it’s the heightened pressure from such a pivotal matchup or otherwise that causes the skaters to tense up, the fact remains that not many goals are scored.
Sebastian Aho, CAR Over 0.5 assists (-105)
Over 0.5 assists at -105 available at time of publishing. Playable to -125.
After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals a season ago, the Carolina Hurricanes be looking to take the next step behind their leader, Sebastian Aho. His 88 points are by far the most on the team, so while they are primarily a defensive squad, the scoring that they do post is primarily thanks to Aho. While he certainly takes his shots, 53 of those points are assists.
Of course, we have more opportunities for that type of point to come through, so that’s how we’re going to approach today’s game. It also helps that the Hurricanes are taking on a terrible Chicago Blackhawks team that allows the 4th-most goals per game. Aho had 2 points the last time these teams met, so we have him recording an assist to round out our NHL predictions for today.
