NHL Picks

The New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes will renew acquaintances at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. on Saturday afternoon to open their Eastern Conference first-round series. These teams met in the first round last season, with the Hurricanes eventually ousting the Islanders in 6 games. The regular-season series was wild, and if that’s any indication, this could be a long series. The road team cashed in all 4 meetings this season, with the Hurricanes taking the most recent battle 4-1 at UBS Arena in Long Island on March 19. The underdog is also a healthy 5-2 in the past 7, including the 2023 postseason.

The Islanders streak into this game, having gone 9-0-1 in the final 10 games of the regular season to get themselves out of a 5-team logjam for the final 2 wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes were also hot down the stretch, winning 5 in a row — pressuring the New York Rangers for the Metropolitan Division title until the final game. The Rangers ended up winning the division and taking the Presidents’ Trophy with 114 points. The Hurricanes, despite the third-most points (111) in the NHL, ended up in second place as a non-division winner. This series should be nip and tuck all the way. We saw just a 2-1 score in Game 1 last season; look for a similar outcome in the series opener in Raleigh Saturday between these familiar foes.

Islanders +1.5 at -150 available at time of publishing. Playable to -160.

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The New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes renew acquaintances in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday afternoon in Raleigh. The over cashed in 3 of the 4 regular-season meetings, but the under (6) hit in the most recent battle on March 19 at UBS Arena — with Carolina coming out ahead 4-1.

The Hurricanes welcomed Frederik Andersen back from a blood-clotting issue in early March. After missing several months, he returned nearly brand new. The Danish netminder coughed up just 13 goals in his final 10 regular-season starts, absolutely standing on top of his head. He and Pyotr Kochetkov give the Hurricanes some of the deepest goaltending in the NHL, and it doesn’t hurt that the ‘Canes are tremendously gifted defensively, too. It’s hard to score goals against them, especially at PNC Arena. This should be a rather low-scoring game, and it will likely take both teams a little time to get on the board as they feel each other out and settle into the series. Look for the goals to be at a premium in Game 1.

Under 5.5 at -120 available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The Toronto Maple Leafs finally got out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2004. They will have to defeat nemesis and a fellow Original Six team 4 times if they hope to make it to the second round or deeper in consecutive seasons for the first time since a 4-year span from 1999-2002. The Leafs were swept in 4 games by the Bruins during the regular season, with Boston outscoring Toronto 15-7. In the most recent showdown at TD Garden the Bruins picked up a 4-1 win; they also prevailed 3-2 in a shootout in the first meeting back on Nov. 2.

The Leafs have had a terrible time in the postseason, winning just one series (last season) since 2004. They haven’t hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup since 1967. A big reason for the lack of postseason success lately is the Boston Bruins. These teams have met in the playoffs 16 times, last in 2019. Toronto and Boston have faced each other four times in the past 11 years, and the Bruins have won every series, including Toronto’s complete Game 7 collapse in 2013 — when the Leafs led in Boston 4-1 going into the third period. With all of the ugly history in this series for the Maple Leafs and the fact that the Bruins have won 7 straight meetings, it’s hard to believe you can get the B’s at such a cheap price. Let’s back the home team with confidence.

Bruins ML at -130 available at time of publishing. Playable to -150.

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These Original Six combatants met 4 times during the regular season, with the under cashing 3 times. The only time the over cashed was a 4-3 overtime victory by the Bruins at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto back on Dec. 2. However, the O/U is 5-5 in the past 10 meetings in this series. Ilya Samsonov hasn’t faced the Bruins since Nov. 2 and he was actually pretty sharp in that game. The Maple Leafs lost 3-2 in a shootout, but he made 38 saves. Still, he was a little shaky down the stretch and the Toronto goalie allowed at least 4 goals in 3 of his final 5.

Toronto also closed the regular season with five consecutive over results, while going 0-3-1 in the final 4 games with 5 or more goals allowed. While Boston dropped the final 2 games, the defense and goaltending wasn’t as bad as that of Toronto. The under was 8-1 in the final nine games for the Bruins, so go lightly on the total whichever side you choose. The thinking is that Linus Ullmark will be able to hold down the powerful Leafs’ offense, as Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner tend to do a disappearing act at this time of the hockey season. The B’s could get to Ilya Samsonov, especially early, but 6 is awfully high for this series opener.

Under 6 at -130 available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.