Wednesday brings the second wave of game 5’s with only 3 games on the slate as the Colorado Avalanche already finished their series with the Nashville Predators on Monday. There is also only 1 team able to close out their series on Wednesday, as the Pittsburgh Penguins lead 3-1 against the New York Rangers. We’ve chosen 1 team from each of the 3 games to parlay that will have a payout of just under 10/1 at BetMGM sportsbook. But before we dive in, be sure to check out all of our picks and previews for every game tonight. You can also follow Pickswise on Twitter for plenty of daily betting content.
New York Rangers -1.5 (+185)
Florida Panthers ML 3-Way (-140)
Calgary Flames -1.5 (+125)
Parlay Odds (+999)
Let’s break down each of the legs:
New York Rangers -1.5 over Pittsburgh Penguins (+185)
The New York Rangers find themselves with their backs against the wall as they can be eliminated on Wednesday by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The good news is that they are back at home, where the Rangers have played much better and where they got their lone win in game 2. The Rangers will also have the projected Vezina trophy winner for the best goalie in the regular season, Igor Shesterkin, between the pipes. Even though he did get pulled in games 3 and 4, his team did not play well in front of him, and it shows as the Rangers rank last out of all the playoff teams in expected goals against. Look for Shesterkin and the Rangers defense to bounce back while the home crowd gives the Rangers a boost as they avoid elimination, so place your bet on the Rangers puck line.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers
Florida Panthers ML 3-Way over Washington Capitals (-140)
The Florida Panthers come back home on Wednesday as their series with the Washington Capitals is tied at 2 games apiece. They were 2 minutes away from falling 3-1 in the series before tying game 4 and then prevailing in OT as Carter Verhaeghe scored 5 minutes into the extra period to give the Panthers the win.
The Panthers have been challenged by the playoff proven Capitals, but are a much better home team, only losing 7 games in the regular season and scoring 5 goals in game 2 to have the Capitals pull their starting goalie in route to a win. The Panthers also haven’t been playing as bad as the series indicates, as they rank higher in both expected goals for and expected goals against than the Capitals in the playoffs. Look for the home-ice advantage to help the overall number 1 seeded Panthers in game 5 and place your bet on the Panthers money line 3-way.
Don’t miss our best player props for tonight’s NHL Playoffs slate
Calgary Flames -1.5 over Dallas Stars (+125)
The Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars have been in an absolute battle for 4 games in their playoff series. The venue now shifts back to Calgary on Wednesday, where we’ve seen a total of 3 goals scored, with only 1 coming from the Flames.
After dropping games 2 and 3, the Flames came out firing in game 4. The Flames put up 53 shots on Monday and the only reason the finals score was 4-1 was because of Stars starting goalie, Jake Oettinger, who made 50 saves. Even though the series is tied, the Flames have been the better team, ranking 3rd in expected goals and 4th in expected goals against out of the 16 playoff teams. The Stars rank 13th and 14th in those same categories, respectively. The Flames will be looking to build off game 4 and give their fans more than 1 goal to cheer for, so look for the Flames to dominate game 5 and place your bet on the Flames puck line.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for the Dallas Stars vs Calgary Flames
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