This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
The National Hockey League has a total of playoff games set for Thursday night. The Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals play Game 2 of their second-round series at 7 p.m. ET from Capital One Arena on ESPN, while the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights tangle at T-Mobile Arena at 9:30 p.m. ET, also on ESPN. We'll put together some parlay possibilities to try and build some bankroll for the rest of the playoffs. Let's get started.
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NHL Playoffs Tonight: Capitals vs. Hurricanes & Oilers vs. Golden Knights
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Hurricanes vs Capitals Game 2: Betting Preview and Expert Picks
The Hurricanes picked up a 2-1 victory in overtime in Game 1 against the Capitals, the No. 1 overall seed in the Eastern Conference as a result of winning the Metropolitan Division.
Washington coasted by the Montreal Canadiens in five games, and it gave chase for the Presidents' Trophy into the final week of the regular season. The Caps also had the historic chase by Alex Ovechkin, eventually tracking down Wayne Gretzky for the NHL's all-time goals lead. It was a feel-good season for Washington, but how quickly they forget. The sportsbooks have the Caps installed as short 'dogs at home for Game 2 after the 2-1 OTL in the series opener. Wow.
The good news for the Hurricanes is that Frederik Andersen was able to return after suffering a freak injury in Game 4 against the New Jersey Devils in the first round. Timo Meier made contact with Andersen in the crease, and he left with an upper-body injury, presumably a head injury, although that's not confirmed. Pyotr Kochetkov steered the ship the rest of the way against the Devils, winning in five games. After a scoreless first period, Andersen allowed a goal to Aliaksei Protas, but that was all he would let behind him. He stopped 13 of 14 shots in the Game 1 win.
The Capitals were unable to generate many quality shot attempts against The Great Dane, while the Hurricanes squeezed off 33 shots, netting two goals. Logan Stankoven leveled the scoring midway through the third period with a helper to Jesperi Kotkaniemi, while Jaccob Slavin stunned the home crowd in the nation's capital with a shot from the point, which found its way through traffic and past Logan Thompson, who likely didn't see a thing. Jordan Martinook and former Capital Dmitry Orlov picked up their third assists of the postseason on the GWG.
Carolina outshot Washington 33-14, while dishing out 44 hits, to just 31 for the home side. The Canes also won 55.6 percent of the faceoffs. Carolina was 0-for-3 on the power play, while Washington went 0-for-2. Surprisingly, Washington blocked 32 shots, compared to just nine for Carolina. Had more shots gotten through for the Caps, imagine how much worse the SOG disparity would have been!
The Canes were 16-21-4 on the road during the regular season, but they're 2-1 in these playoffs, with the only loss coming in double overtime in Game 3 in New Jersey. It's tough to flick a switch, but Carolina has apparently done it, becoming road warriors all of a sudden.
Still, as home underdogs, the top-seeded Capitals are too good of a value to pass up on home ice. We'll go with the Under again, too, as the total has gone low in four of six playoff games for the Canes, while also going 4-2 for the Caps so far in the postseason.
- Capitals ML (+130 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Under 5.5 Goals (-102 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.
Edmonton Oilers vs Vegas Golden Knights: Game 2 Betting Analysis
The Oilers and Calvin Pickard appeared to be on track for a long night in Vegas. But, it's a marathon, not a sprint, and Edmonton wasn't about to let the house win in Game 1.
Mark Stone scored a power-play goal and an even-strength goal to get VGK off on the right foot in the series opener. However, Corey Perry scored an important goal late in the first period to halve the lead.
In the third period, Leon Draisaitl evened things up 57 seconds into the third period to make it 2-2, while Zach Hyman stunned the crowd with a go-ahead goal at 16:58. Adin Hill also coughed up a goal to Connor Brown at 18:14, as the Oilers ended by doubling up the Golden Knights 4-2. The Under (6.5) ended up hanging on despite the extra attacker for nearly two minutes for VGK.
Edmonton has 28 shots on goal, compared to just 17 for Vegas. The Golden Knights had a 42-to-33 hits margin, while the Oilers dominated in the faceoff circle at 63.5 percent to just 36.5 percent for the home side.
VGK had the only power-play goal, going 1-for-3 on the man advantage, while Edmonton was 0-for-2. The difference in shot blocks was negligible, with Vegas posting 19 and Edmonton notching 17.
Pickard has won five straight starts, but we keep expecting the bottom to drop out. Game 2 might be it. He is simply due for a poor outing, and you know Vegas is going to turn up the intensity on offense, trying to generate way more shots after Edmonton gummed up the neutral zone in the series opener.
Back the home side straight up, and let's go high on the total.
- Golden Knights ML (-140 at Caesars Sportsbook)
- Over 6.5 Goals (-109 at Fanatics Sportsbook)
NHL Best Bets: Top Picks and Strategy for Playoff Success
4-Leg NHL Super Parlay (+1179 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Capitals ML (+130) vs. Hurricanes
- Under 5.5 (-102) - Capitals vs. Hurricanes
- Golden Knights ML (-142) vs. Oilers
- Over 6.5 (-112) - Golden Knights vs. Oilers
2-Leg NHL Sides Parlay (+291 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Capitals ML (+130) vs. Hurricanes
- Golden Knights ML (-142) vs. Oilers
2-Leg NHL Totals Parlay (+274 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Under 5.5 (-102) - Capitals vs. Hurricanes
- Over 6.5 (-112) - Golden Knights vs. Oilers
- * Never risk so much on a singular bet, only as part of a Same-Game (SGP) or multi-leg parlay, especially with promos or boosts.
