NHL Best Bets 5/3/23: Expert Betting Picks For Today’s Playoff Games

Get NHL best bets and our expert predictions for today’s NHL playoff slate of games on (5/3/23) Find two best bets for the NHL games featuring the Devils-Hurricanes and Oilers-Golden Knights.

NHL Best Bets (5/3/23)

Find two NHL best bets and how we are betting on tonight’s slate of NHL games.

Oilers Vs. Golden Knights Over 6.5 (-118)

Usually when I see a total this high, I avoid it. But these are not two normal teams. The Edmonton Oilers have gone over the total in four of their last six games, while the Vegas Golden Knights are on a 5-1 over run. Edmonton wasn’t just trending massively to the over throughout the regular season (53-28-7), that was the case on the road as well (29-15). In the last three games the Oilers played, there’s been an average of nine total goals, and this doesn’t seem like the time to pump the brakes. 

Vegas goaltender Laurent Brossoit played fairly well in his series against the Winnipeg Jets (.915 save percentage, 2.42 average goals allowed), but the Oilers offense is in a whole different weight class. The Jets averaged just 3 goals per game in the regular season (21st in the league) compared to Edmonton’s 3.96 (first in the league), and Winnipeg doesn’t have anyone near the offensive level of Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl (combined 21 points in the first round of the playoffs). Meanwhile, Stuart Skinner will likely appear between the pipes for Edmonton, and he’s been more damp paper towel than brick wall in the playoffs (.890 save percentage, 3.43 average goals against). Even with this high total, there’s no way I’m touching the under on this game.

Author: Anthony Elio

Carolina Hurricanes Moneyline (-112)

Will we see another road team take Game 1 after a Game 7 series prior? Both Florida and Seattle took care of business but the Devils face a tougher task. Carolina has two reliable goaltenders but Frederik Andersen was turned to last series and there should be no turning back now. While he had a .903 SV% in the regular season and a 2.48 GAA, he wasn’t quite as strong as he was last season, yet he is still someone I trust in this spot. Akira Schmid has been fantastic since coming in for New Jersey and was a big reason why the Devils moved on. While the goaltending leads you to a potential both of these teams ranked first and second in 5v5 xGoals.

What I like about Carolina in this spot despite some of the injuries towards the end of the year, they lead the league in xGoals against. PNC Arena has also been a true home ice advantage for Carolina over the last few years and this year was no different. They went 28-10 at home. Expect money to be on the Devils side here as well riding the hot hand and following the trend of yesterday’s games. The difference for me is I don’t expect a meltdown in net like Dallas and Toronto’s defense doesn’t stack up against the Canes.

Author: Jason Guilbault

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