Best NHL Bets: Stanley Cup Playoffs Picks and Parlays Today

Best NHL Bets: Stanley Cup Playoffs Picks and Parlays Today

This article is part of our NHL Picks series.

NHL Parlay Picks: Expert NHL Bets Tonight (May 5, 2024)

There are two playoff games scheduled in the National Hockey League on Sunday, as the Western Conference wraps up one series in a clash of titans, while the Eastern Conference begins its second round.

The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers kick off the second round of the playoffs at 4 p.m. at Madison Square Garden, and the game can be viewed on ESPN. The Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars play a decisive Game 7 in the Western Conference at 7:30 p.m. ET, which can be viewed on TBS. Let's get started!

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Best NHL Picks Tonight

Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers  

The Hurricanes and Rangers kick off the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon.

The line is a little curious, as the Metropolitan Division champion Rangers are underdogs in their own barn in Game 1. New York won two of the three regular-season meetings, too, while winning the most recent playoff meeting in 2022 in seven games. So, yeah, the line is a head-scratcher.

The Rangers swept the Washington Capitals, and timely goals, defense and great goaltending were all at play.

Carolina topped the New York Islanders in five games, losing only in double-overtime in Game 4. Frederik Andersen was tremendous in the crease, posting a 4-1 record, 2.25 GAA and .912 SV% in five starts against the Islanders.

The Great Dane will be locked in a great battle with Igor Shesterkin, who is 4-0 with a 1.75 GAA and .930 SV% in four starts.

Back the Rangers in Game 1 in the first game of what could be a long series, and look for both of these rusty teams to get off to a slow start offensively. As such, bang the Under, too.

  • Rangers ML (-105 at FanDuel)
  • Under 5.5 (-118 at FanDuel)

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Vegas Golden Knights at Dallas Stars  

The Golden Knights and Stars square off in a decisive Game 7 in the Metroplex. After the road team won the first four games in this series, the home team has come away with two consecutive wins.

The Stars posted a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken in Game 7 in the second round last season, and Dallas has won two of the past three times it has been to a Game 7 since Sept. 2020.

The Golden Knights are playing their fourth Game 7, and first since May 28, 2021. The Golden Knights paddled the Minnesota Wild at home by a 6-2 score in the first round in the most recent Game 7. The only time in franchise history that VGK was on the road for a Game 7, Vegas lost 5-4 in overtime against the San Jose Sharks on April 23, 2019.

We saw in Saturday's Toronto Maple Leafs-Boston Bruins Game 7 battle that the offense was nearly non-existent, and the defense and goaltenders were on point. We didn't have a goal until the third period, and we had a total of three goals. We're likely to have another long game on Sunday, as these teams have been Under machines in this series.

We had five combined goals in the first period of Game 1, but just two more goals in that game. In 14 regulation periods and nearly a full period of overtime in Game 3, we've seen just 24 goals. Extrapolated over a full game, that's about four goals per game. That's an easy Under, and what we should see in Game 7.

  • Under 5.5 (-135 at BetMGM)

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NHL Parlays Tonight 

3-Way Parlay (+497 at FanDuel)

  • Rangers ML and Under 5.5 vs. Hurricanes +237 - SGP
  • Under 5.5 (-130) - Golden Knights at Stars

2-Way Sides Parlay (+226 at FanDuel)

  • Under 5.5 (-118) - Hurricanes at Rangers
  • Under 5.5 (-130) - Golden Knights at Stars

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Dobish
Hockey writer, unskilled fourth liner, fantasy and gambling industry veteran, handicapper, FSWA's 2011 fantasy hockey writer of the year nominee and four-time FSWA award winner. Twitter: @danieledobish
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