We get an extra game on today’s NHL Playoffs slate, moving from four to five. Because of that, it means there’s a game on the back end of a back-to-back as the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers do battle for the second time in as many days. More importantly, the Canadiens will be looking to avoid getting bounced from the playoff bubble.
The Canadiens-Flyers matchup is not the critical situation on today’s schedule of games. We’ll see the Columbus Blue Jackets looking to avoid elimination against the Tampa Bay Lightning while the Carolina Hurricanes look to avoid the same fate against the Boston Bruins. In addition, the Arizona Coyotes have an elimination game against the Colorado Avalanche.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the odds and best value plays we can find from all NHL games. All of these lines are according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning
12:00 p.m. EST | Watch: NBCSN
Total: 5 goals | Over: -125 | Under: +104
CBJ | Moneyline: +150 | Puck Line +1.5: -190
TB | Moneyline: -177 | Puck Line -1.5: +155
Where’s the Money Going? (as of 9:30 a.m. EST today)
Moneyline: TB, 62% of bets | TB, 74% of money
Puck Line: CBJ, 61% of bets | CBJ, 70% of money
Total: Under, 62% of bets | Over, 80% of money
Betting Pick: Over 5 goals (-125)
The Lightning could very well end the series this afternoon, but they’ll need to score some goals in order to do so. Each game has ended with no more than five goals in the series, so we’re due for a high-scoring affair. We almost had it in Game 4 but there were numerous missed opportunities. A lot of money came in late on the total going over five goals in this one, making that 80 percent of all money wagered in that direction.
Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins
4:00 p.m. EST | Watch: NBCSN
Total: 5 goals | Over: -137 | Under: +112
CAR | Moneyline: +132 | Puck Line +1.5: -215
BOS | Moneyline: -152 | Puck Line -1.5: +175
Where’s the Money Going? (as of 9:30 a.m. EST today)
Moneyline: BOS, 59% of bets | CAR, 58% of money
Puck Line: CAR, 69% of bets | CAR, 86% of money
Total: Over, 75% of bets | Under, 73% of money
Betting Pick: Hurricanes Moneyline (+132)
There’s no easy way to say it – the Hurricanes chumped it in each of the last two games. This is a scrappy bunch, though, that is fully capable of clawing their way back into this series. It has been a tight series thus far so all it’s really going to take to turn it around is a couple of good bounces in Carolina’s direction. In fact, three of the four games have been decided by one goal – the only misnomer was a two-goal game where Boston put in an empty-netter.
Arizona Coyotes at Colorado Avalanche
5:30 p.m. EST | Watch: NBCSN
Total: 5.5 goals | Over: +108 | Under: -132
ARZ | Moneyline: +190 | Puck Line +1.5: -143
COL | Moneyline: -225 | Puck Line -1.5: +120
Where’s the Money Going? (as of 9:30 a.m. EST today)
Moneyline: COL, 86% of bets | COL, 90% of money
Puck Line: COL, 84% of bets | COL, 96% of money
Total: Over, 52% of bets | Over, 62% of money
Betting Pick: Avalanche Puck Line -1.5 (+120)
I’ll make this very simple – Arizona can’t hang with Colorado. Game 4 showed that explicitly as the Avalanche power play got going and the team won the game 7-1. Colorado is the far more superior team and we’ll see that again tonight.
Montreal Canadiens at Philadelphia Flyers
8:00 p.m. EST | Watch: NBCSN
Total: 5 goals | Over: -103 | Under: -120
MTL | Moneyline: +118 | Puck Line +1.5: -240
PHI | Moneyline: -137 | Puck Line -1.5: +195
Where’s the Money Going? (as of 9:30 a.m. EST today)
Moneyline: PHI, 72% of bets | PHI, 86% of money
Puck Line: PHI, 67% of bets | PHI, 80% of money
Total: Under, 80% of bets | N/A% of money
Betting Pick: Under 5 (-120)
As if we were really going to change course. We’ve seen the under hit in three of the four games in this series – the misnomer being a push in a 5-0 Canadiens win. Carter Hart and Carey Price have been fantastic between the pipes and we’ll likely see that for as long as this series goes – whether that’s tonight or later in the week. Guys on both teams are just doing the right thing defensively, not allowing many high-quality scoring chances.
Vancouver Canucks at St. Louis Blues
10:30 p.m. EST | Watch: NBCSN
Total: 5.5 goals | Over: +114 | Under: -139
VAN | Moneyline: +125 | Puck Line +1.5: -225
STL | Moneyline: -143 | Puck Line -1.5: +185
Where’s the Money Going? (as of 9:30 a.m. EST today)
Moneyline: STL, 56% of bets | STL, 93% of money
Puck Line: VAN, 67% of bets | STL, 89% of money
Total: Under, 77% of bets | Under, 94% of money
Betting Pick: Canucks Moneyline (+125)
I have to go against the money this around, just because I don’t have that same belief in the Blues that others do. Although Ryan O’Reilly has been playing well in these last two games, Vladimir Tarasenko left the bubble to get his surgically repaired shoulder examined. That loss is going to hurt them sooner than later, even though we’ve seen a desperate St. Louis team in Games 3 and 4. Look for Vancouver to take control of the series once again.
