NHL Playoff Picks: Could We Be Looking at More Close Outs Friday?

One of the more peculiar themes of Thursday night's games was this. Each winning team scored four goals. Tampa Bay beat Toronto 4-2, New Jersey beat New York 4-0, and Vegas advanced with a 4-1 victory against Winnipeg.

Before you make your betting on the NHL, here are a few more quick takeaways on what could be a night where more eliminations happen. 

Schedule Breakdown

Here is tonight’s breakdown of games. 

• Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders - 7 p.m. ET
• Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers - 7:30 p.m. ET
• Dallas Stars at Minnesota Wild - 9:30 p.m. ET
• Colorado Avalanche at Seattle Kraken – 10 p.m. ET

The good news is that the schedule is easier to follow. Games are more intense as the first round nears its end.     

Some NHL Playoff Wagers To Consider 

• The Islanders, Bruins, and Avalanche all to win is at +375.
• The Over in Florida is worth a shot again.
• Save props in Seattle take the Over.
• Take the Nathan MacKinnon two-point prop at -110.
• Look at more individual player props again. Watch for any late-breaking line shifts, etc.
• Minnesota and Dallas are both at +140 to win in 60 minutes. Flip a coin.
• Seattle, in regulation, comes in at +200, which is even better than their +135 moneyline.

Tampa Bay Still Alive Against Toronto

It has been a mess for Tampa Bay, and the Lightning remain in a 3-2 series hole. However, this is one of the most damning stats of this Toronto Maple Leafs’ era. The triumvirate of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander is 0-10 in games where they can eliminate a team (hat tip to Stephen Burtch). 

Who knows where this series is headed? However, the longer the Lightning extends this series, the more doubt they create in Toronto. Even last night, Andrei Vasilevskiy was all right in goal. He has not even been great in this best-of-seven. If he gets going, Toronto will feel the heat. 

TNT And TBS Control The Puck Tonight

Friday is for the Turner Networks. TNT is there for the 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. games. Then, the 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. contests are on TBS. Now, the added possibility of overtime can push some start times a little back. Also, local coverage still applies for those curious. Also, expect picture-in-picture to get a bit of a workout. 

With four potential elimination games, there will be a ton of urgency tonight with four possible elimination games. 

Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders

Can the New York Islanders restore home order on Friday night? The last two games have seen the road team more or less control the action. New York must get off to a better start than it did in Game 4. Scoring an early goal will set the tone.   

Ilya Sorokin could use some help in this series. He finally got that in Game 5 as the Islanders held Carolina off in Carolina. For that to be a turning point in this series, New York must force a Game 7.

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Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers

Boston, arguably, should have swept the Florida Panthers out of the first round. Aaron Ekblad has not looked right, and Aleksander Barkov seems like a shell of his usual self. It almost feels like Matthew Tkachuk has willed the Panthers to two wins - both in Boston.

The Panthers cannot let Boston dictate the pace, and they have to get in the head of Linus Ullmark again. That mistake in Game 5 was immense. Firing pucks from every angle works versus goalies. 

Dallas Stars at Minnesota Wild

Can Dallas close out Minnesota by winning three straight games? That is not easy to do in the postseason. Minnesota looked like the better team after Game 3. Things have been different since. Tyler Seguin has been allowed to run wild on the man advantage, and Jake Oettinger is playing like Oettinger can. 

Does Minnesota find a way to stop the bleeding? Can Kirill Kaprizov break through? One goal in five games on 14 shots will not work. 

Colorado Avalanche at Seattle Kraken

Does the Kraken have one more win in them? The fourth win is the hardest in a series, and we will find out what Colorado has left in the tank on Friday night. Seattle continues to show the ability to play its games on its terms. Colorado briefly asserted their pace for one game. That has been it. 

Colorado will not win this series playing this way. The Avalanche needs to speed up things and make things more chaotic. No matter the result, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen must play full bore and not worry about the officials so much. 

Good luck, and once again, thanks for reading! We will carry some more plays on social media as conditions warrant.

Thanks to BetMGM for the help.