NHL Best Bets 4/20/23: Expert Betting Picks For Tonight’s Playoff Games

Get NHL best bets and our expert predictions for tonight’s NHL playoff slate of games on (4/20/23) Find four best bets for the NHL games featuring the Lightning-Maple Leafs and Jets-Golden Knights.

NHL Best Bets (4/20/23)

There are plenty of great games tonight on the NHL slate and you can find tewo of our NHL best bets below.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Best Bet

Did the lamps ever stop lighting in the Game 1 showdown between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning? Tampa Bay went into their playoff series with swagger, putting up seven goals for the first time all season against one of the better defensive teams in the league. Brayden Point led the team with two goals in the game, keeping the momentum going after a regular season in which he led the team with 51 goals.

Toronto played sloppy throughout the game, allowing Tampa to go on the power play eight times, scoring on half of those opportunities. It didn’t help that starting goaltender Ilya Samsonov had one of his worst nights in net, allowing six goals with a .793 save percentage before being yanked before the start of the third period. If Samsonov melts down again, the team might have to turn back to the inexperienced Joseph Wall in the game, who allowed a goal on five shots in his appearance on Tuesday. These were two of the highest scoring teams in the league this year (3.41 GPG average for Tampa Bay, 3.39 for Toronto) and I don’t see this turning into a defensive slogfest out of nowhere.

Best Bet: Over 6.5
Author: Anthony Elio

Winnipeg Jets vs. Vegas Golden Knights Best Bet

I should’ve grabbed this bet on Tuesday and I’m not making the same mistake twice. The Winnipeg Jets punched the Golden Knights in the mouth in the first game of the series, and I’m going to ride the team until I see more from this Vegas squad. The Jets outshot Vegas 31 to 17 throughout the game, and completely shut down the team on all three power play opportunities. Golden Knights goalie Laurent Brossoit finished the game with a .867 SV% and four total goals allowed in the first game, a far cry from his regular season average of .927 SV % and 2.17 GAA. The return of captain Mark Stone was supposed to fire up Vegas in Game 1, but the winger finished the game without a point.

Winnipeg center Adam Lowry might have only logged 13 goals in the regular season, but he’s off to a hot postseason start with two goals in the first game of the series and I’ll be keeping an eye on how he plays tonight. Vegas could definitely bounce back given their postseason experience, having only missed the playoffs once in team history, but I enjoy the value of a Winnipeg team that started hot and should keep their collective foot on the gas pedal.

Best Bet: Winnipeg Jets Moneyline
Author: Anthony Elio