This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
The National Hockey League has three playoff games on the slate for Friday. We have two Eastern Conference tilts on the docket, as well as one battle from the Western Conference. All three series see a shift in venue, as the home teams look for their first victories of those respective series. We'll try and put together a few winning parlay opportunities to build that bankroll for the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Let's get started.
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NHL Playoff Picks: Expert Bets and Parlay Opportunities for April 26
For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.
Eastern Conference Showdowns: NHL Playoff Betting Insights
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers: Betting Tips and Predictions
The Lightning head to Amerant Bank Arena down 0-2 in the series against the defending Stanley Cup champs. Tampa Bay went from having home-ice advantage heading into the series, to getting its doors blown off in Game 1, to tumbling in Game 2, to facing the broom.
Andrei Vasilevskiy posted a career-best 2.18 GAA in the regular season, but the Panthers don't care about stats. They welcomed Matthew Tkachuk back from a 25-game absence due to a groin injury, and he posted two goals and an assist in Game 1. In Game 2, it was an unlikely offensive source, Nate Schmidt, bagging the lone goal against Vasilevskiy, while Sam Bennett tacked on an empty-net goal.
Sergei Bobrovsky, chiseled out of the Conn Smythe Trophy by Connor McDavid last season, stopped all 19 attempts by Tampa Bay in Game 2, giving him 30 wins across his past 44 postseason starts, with four of those victories coming via shutout.
The Lightning went 1-for-3 on the power play in Game 1, while the Panthers were 3-for-3. In Game 2, the Lightning were 0-for-5 on the man advantage, with Florida misfiring on its three chances on the power play. Tampa Bay is 12.5 percent on the power play through two games, and that's not going to get the job done.
Nikita Kucherov, who had 37 goals and 121 points with a plus-22 rating in the regular season, has managed just one assist and an even rating with three shots on goal. The lone helper came on the power play, so obviously he is scoreless on 5-on-5 opportunities. That has to change in a hurry. He had a goal and an assist in the most recent meet with Florida in the regular season, and he logged 15 SOG in four meetings, so his disappearing act in this series has been a stunner.
We can't go against Florida now. Bobrovsky is playing with too much confidence. We'll lean low, as we should get another feisty, physical game in the first installment in Sunrise.
- Panthers ML (-130 at Caesars Sportsbook)
- Under 5.5 Goals (-105 at Caesars Sportsbook)
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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators: Game 4 Betting Preview
The Maple Leafs pushed the Senators to the brink in Game 3, winning 3-2 in overtime for the second consecutive game. Toronto cashed as an underdog (+120) as the Under (5.5) hit for the second straight outing.
If Toronto is able to complete the sweep, it still won't make the first-round failure notoriety go away, but it might give some hockey fans a new feeling about the Maple Leafs. Maybe not, who knows. That isn't important right now, anyway, and this version of the Leafs do not care about past failures.
After Max Domi was the overtime hero in Game 2, it was Simon Benoit sinking the Senators in Game 3. While Matthew Knies had a power-play goal, and Auston Matthews struck for an even-strength goal in the third period, getting contributions from Domi and Benoit in the extra session in the past two games shows the make-up and depth of this team is built for a deeper run in the postseason than season's past.
Anthony Stolarz has been the wild card, and he is 3-0-0 with a 1.95 GAA and .926 save percentage through the first three games of the series. Those are also his first three career postseason starts in the NHL.
The Leafs will have the brooms out, but the Senators should be able to stave off elimination to force the series back to Toronto for Game 5. Honestly, Ottawa could be up 2-1 in this series if things break slightly different in the past two outings, so while down 0-3 in the series, the Sens aren't getting blown out. We'll go low on the total, as the Sens are likely to be very careful at both ends with their season on the line.
- Senators ML (-110 at ESPN Bet Sportsbook)
- Under 5.5 Goals (+100 at BetMGM)
Western Conference Action: Key NHL Playoff Picks
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Minnesota Wild: Winning Strategies
The Pacific Division champion Golden Knights, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, are on the ropes heading into Game 4 in St. Paul. And, as a reminder, St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota, not Minneapolis. Moving on.
The Wild went up 2-1 in the series with its second consecutive 5-2 victory. In Game 3, Kirill Kaprizov got the home side off to a hot start with a power-play goal at 3:13 of the first period, while Marco Rossi made it 2-0 at 6:51. Alex Pietrangelo settled things down with an even-strength goal midway through the first, slicing the lead to 2-1.
In the second period, Matt Boldy notched his fourth goal of the series, an unassisted even-strength goal, while Kaprizov was back with a power-play goal, and the rout was on.
Reilly Smith had a shorthanded goal at 11:34 of the third period to briefly give Vegas a glimmer of hope, down 4-2, but Marcus Foligno posted a shorthanded empty-net goal.
Filip Gustavsson made 30 saves on 32 shots, while Adin Hill was pulled after allowing four goals on 21 shots. Akira Schmid stepped in and stopped all nine shots he faced, although it is fully expected Hill will be back tending the twine in Game 4.
Perhaps it is faulty thinking, as Minnesota has outplayed Vegas in each of the past two games by a wide margin. However, I am not closing the door on the Golden Knights not only winning Game 4, but winning the entire series. They won the difficult Pacific Division for a reason, as they are an elite team. However, the offense needs to get going. We'll stay with Over for the total, as it is 3-for-3 so far.
- Golden Knights ML (-137 at BetRivers Sportsbook)
- Over 5.5 Goals (-118 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: Expert Bets
The Stars and Avalanche meet in Game 4, and home-ice advantage has mattered very little between these Central Division combatants.
Colorado fired out to a 5-1 win in Game 1 in Dallas, and it looked like the Avalanche might be well on their way to a short series. In Game 2, the Stars survived 4-3 in overtime to salvage a series split heading back to Denver, but Dallas still felt in trouble. Now, after a 2-1 win in overtime in Game 3, the good feelings about the Stars are back, and the doubts about Mackenzie Blackwood and the Colorado goaltending situation are back.
To be fair, Blackwood allowed just a power-play goal in regulation to Jamie Benn in Game 3, stopping 26 of 28 shots. Tyler Seguin got him at 5:31 of the extra session, but now Dallas has seized home-ice advantage back.
After allowing four goals on just 24 shots in Game 1, Jake Oettinger has settled down with four goals allowed on 65 shots in the past two games, both overtime wins. He is 2-1-0 with a 2.37 GAA and .910 save percentage in the series, finally looking like the difference maker we thought he would be prior to this series.
We should get a high-scoring game, as Colorado feeds off the intense energy of its home crowd in a huge series defining game. If the Avs lose, they're not done, but they're in a major hole. If they win, evening the series, it turns into a best-of-three, which can go either way. We'll side with the Stars as an underdog on the puck line just to be on the safe side.
- Stars +1.5 (-165 at Bet365 Sportsbook)
- Over 6 Goals (-114 at Fanatics Sportsbook)
Best NHL Parlays Today
8-Leg NHL Super Parlay (+9790 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Panthers ML (-138) vs. Lightning
- Under 5.5 (-108) - Panthers vs. Lightning
- Over 5.5 (-118) - Golden Knights at Wild
- Golden Knights ML (-152) at Wild
- Senators ML (-113) vs. Maple Leafs
- Under 5.5 (-102) - Senators vs. Maple Leafs
- Over 6.5 (+106) - Stars at Avalanche
- Stars +1.5 (-170) at Avalanche
4-Leg NHL Sides Parlay (+755 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Panthers ML (-138) vs. Lightning
- Golden Knights ML (-152) at Wild
- Senators ML (-113) vs. Maple Leafs
- Stars +1.5 (-170) at Avalanche
4-Leg NHL Totals Parlay (+1351 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Under 5.5 (-108) - Panthers vs. Lightning
- Over 5.5 (-118) - Golden Knights at Wild
- Under 5.5 (-102) - Senators vs. Maple Leafs
- Over 6.5 (+106) - Stars at Avalanche
2-Leg NHL Conservative Parlay (+185 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Panthers ML (-138) vs. Lightning
- Golden Knights ML (-152) at Wild
