April 23rd
Bruins/Panthers over 6 (-120), 2*
I have a couple other bets I’m considering. I have the Wild in the series, so I’m going to leave that one alone. The Hurricanes really struggle on the road in the postseason. What saves them is they often have home ice advantage, where they are excellent. I remember last year against Boston, all seven games were won by the home team. So far this series, the same pattern is unfolding. As for the Oilers game, I feel like they are going to take money tomorrow. I think +150 will be available on the Kings by puck drop. If this were the NBA, I would bet Edmonton, expecting the officials to give them a friendly whistle. NHL isn’t officiated the same way. It’s not like Drew Doughty is going to get in foul trouble in the first five minutes of the game. With that being said, this is really a must win game for the Oilers. They cannot afford to go down 3-1 in this series.
Lastly, I think we are going to see some goals in Florida. We could have both backup goalies in net. I know Bobrovsky isn’t your typical backup and Swayman has been excellent in a timeshare with Ullmark, but they are the #2 options. The one game Florida won had nine combined goals and I think it is much more likely that they win a high scoring game. If their offense/power play isn’t generating goals and the Bruins can clamp down on them like they did for stretches in games one and three, Florida will be in trouble. Florida’s defense and goaltending can’t be trusted to win low scoring games and deep down they know that. This is a must win game for Florida and I think we get a lot of energy and physicality from them early. Maybe betting Florida to score first is a good idea. I will update with anything I add tomorrow.