Phil Agius
Show Bio
Good morning Pickswise Nation, and welcome to another fantastic Friday of sports. The last two places in the NBA Playoffs are on the line tonight, and we also have the final two games of the NHL regular season, plus a full MLB slate, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better.
About Last Night
Bruins finish with 65 wins
The Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 to complete a historic NHL regular season with a record of 65-12-5. The Bruins are FanDuel Sportsbook’s +370 favorites for the Stanley Cup. The Golden Knights beat the Kraken 3-1 to clinch the Pacific Division ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, who ended the season with a 9th straight win, 5-2 over the Sharks.
Rays equal best ever start
The Tampa Bay Rays equalled the MLB’s best-ever start to a season, reaching 13-0 with a 9-3 win over the Red Sox. The Twins beat the Yankees 11-2, while the Brewers saw off the Padres 4-3 in the 10th.
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Today’s Slate
NBA Play-in Tournament wraps up
It’s Bulls vs Heat in the battle to be the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference at 7:30 pm ET on TNT, then Thunder vs Timberwolves at 10:o0 pm ET on ESPN for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Read today’s NBA picks.
Final 2 NHL games on Friday
There are still issues to be decided on the final day of the NHL regular season, with the Avalanche looking to pip Dallas for 1st place in the Central Division by beating the Predators at 8:00 pm ET. Read all of today’s NHL predictions.
15 MLB games on Friday
We have all 30 MLB teams in action today, with Apple TV+ showing Giants vs Tigers at 6:40 pm ET and Angels vs Red Sox at 7:10 pm ET. Read all of today’s MLB predictions.
Best Bet of the Day
MLB: New York Mets -1.5 over Oakland Athletics
9:40 pm ET
Through 2 starts, both against the Miami Marlins, the Mets’ Kodai Senga has shown flashes of brilliance and just why he was so sought after in free agency. Senga has a 4-seam fastball that averages a shade under 97 mph, and his “ghost fork” forkball makes him unique. That offering has been thrown on 23.6% of his pitches while batters are whiffing on it 60% of the time with a .049 xSLG. Even with Miami seeing him in back-to-back starts they were unable to figure out his arsenal, and Oakland’s inconsistent offense may be in trouble their first time seeing him. The Mets also had the day off yesterday so their bullpen should be fully rested and ready to relieve Senga when he exits. Read our full Mets vs Athletics predictions.
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Must-read
Today’s NBA mega parlay, first basket best bets — we have cashed 3 straight picks at +450, +1100 and +370! — and Bulls vs Heat Same Game Parlay are ready to read, along with our NBA Playoffs outright picks. You can also check out our MLB mega parlay and today’s top YRFI/NRFI picks plus today’s best NHL player props. Our EPL parlay for tomorrow morning’s games is also available, along with our UFC on ESPN 44 best bets and UFC four-fight parlay for Saturday’s big fights.
Read all of our great sports analysis as it arrives throughout the day on the Analysis tab.
Stat of the Day
The Bulls swept the regular-season series 3-0 against the Heat, winning the meetings in South Beach by 8 and 10 points.
Quote of the Day
“We took five minutes and celebrated it and we moved on.”
Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman knows there are bigger days ahead for his record-breaking team.
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