NHL Best Bets
There are only two NHL games tonight, so options are limited for NHL best bets. Both games are series that feature teams getting back on home ice down 2-0 in the series. The Tampa Bay Lightning could easily be knotted at 1-1, but they fell in overtime in Game 2 thanks to a Carter Verhaeghe goal for the Panthers. That overtime goal was the fifth of his playoff career, which has him tied for third all-time, a pretty insane stat.
The Islanders could be in the same situation as well, but they let a 3-0 lead slip away in Game 2. Now, they find themselves in a tough spot against a very strong Carolina team.
Florida at Tampa (-115, 6)
The Florida Panthers are a wagon. There’s no denying that at this point, but Amalie Arena can be a very difficult building to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In my opinion, you can never count the Lightning out. They have shown time and time again that they can flip a switch in desperate times.
One area that Tampa needs to focus on is their start to the game. Florida has had a much better jump in the first two games, so I imagine Jon Cooper will have his team fired up from the opening puck drop. Even if they weren’t at their best, the Lightning still had a good chance to take Game 2. Tonight, they will have to get more traffic in front of Sergei Bobrovsky.
Bobrovsky has been excellent for the Panthers, but Vasilevskiy has also had some strong showings. In Game 2, Vasilevskiy made 34 saves on 37 shots and skated to a .919 save percentage. The goaltending has not been an issue.
One player to look for is Nikita Kucherov, who has been unable to find the back of the net in the first two games. Kucherov has notched two assists, but after scoring 44 goals in the regular season, they will need him to get going if they want to get back in the series. Kucherov is a killer, and I do not doubt that he will have a big impact on this game tonight.
Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, and Victor Hedman have all shown up for Tampa.
The Panthers will be missing Sam Bennett, who was injured in the last game. That will be a bigger loss than some people may anticipate.
We’re going to see a desperate effort from the Bolts. I think they get themselves back in the series tonight.
NHL Best Bet: Tampa Bay Lightning ML -115 (play to -125)
Carolina at NY Islanders (+140, 5.5)
The Islanders have to find a way to change the vibes of this series after an all-time collapse in Game 2 on the road in Carolina. With this series shifting back to Long Island, Patrick Roy has decided to turn to Ilya Sorokin after Semyon Varlamov started both games on the road. Sorokin didn’t have his best regular season as he skated to a 25-19-12 record with a .909 save percentage and a 3.01 goals-against average.
That said, Sorokin had a strong finish to the regular season and should feel confident going into this start tonight. In his last four starts, he went 3-0-1 and boasted a 2.21 goals-against average with a .932 save percentage. Starting Sorokin could be a turning point in this series.
The Hurricanes have been notoriously bad on the road in the playoffs since the 2021-22 postseason. Since then, they have gone 3-10 in the 13 road games they’ve played. In last year’s first round, they went 1-2 in the three games they played at UBS Arena.
This series will have a different feel as it shifts in favor of the Islanders’ home crowd.
Frederik Andersen had a rough go in Game 2, allowing three goals on just 12 shots, but he has been excellent since coming back from injury. It won’t be easy for the Islanders.
I anticipate a tight, low-scoring game, but I’m going to give the Islanders the edge tonight with the home crowd.
NHL Best Bet(s): New York Islanders ML +140 (play to +120) | Under 5.5 -115 (play to -130)
April Record: 20-11 (+6.49 units)
2023-24 record: 149–143 (-24.25 units)
