This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
NHL Parlay Picks: Expert NHL Bets Tonight (May 8, 2024)
There are two postseason games on the NHL schedule for Thursday night, and we have a nice parlay opportunity. Victories are going to be crucial for both home sides tonight, too.
In the Eastern Conference, the Hurricanes play their first home game of the second round against the Rangers. Puck drop at PNC Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m., and it's the first of two games in an ESPN doubleheader. The Avalanche and Stars are scheduled to tangle in Game 2 of their series at 9:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center. Let's get started!
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Best NHL Picks Tonight
New York Rangers 
at Carolina Hurricanes 
The Rangers hold a 2-0 series advantage. New York won Game 1 by a 4-3 score, and it fired out to a 3-1 lead after the first period and led 4-2 late in the third. They dominated that game from beginning to end.
In Game 2, the Rangers trailed 3-2 in the third period before Chris Kreider scored a power-play goal at 6:07 of the frame, courtesy of a Dmitry Orlov tripping penalty. The game remained 3-3 for a while, and that's how it stayed until double overtime. Brady Skjei was charged with a cross-checking penalty at 6:37 of the extra session, and it was former Hurricanes forward Vincent Trocheck who took advantage, slipping one past Frederik Andersen for the game-winning goal.
Frederik Andersen, who slipped to 4-3-0 with a 2.58 GAA and .899 SV% in these playoffs, has allowed three or more goals in four straight games, and four goals in each of the first two contests. He hadn't allowed more than three goals in a game since Oct. 14 in Los Angeles, a 6-5 shootout victory.
As such, head coach Rod Brind'Amour is switching tracks and rolling with Pytor Kochetkov (23-13-4, 2.33 GAA, .911 SV%, 4 SO) for the Hurricanes in Game 3 with Andersen as his understudy. Kochetkov hasn't appeared in game action since April 14, so it's a risk for Rod the Bod. But Kochetkov did win his final four games of the season, including victories over the Capitals and Bruins, two playoff teams.
Kochetkov was also on the short end of a hard-luck loss in a start against the Rangers on March 12, kicking aside 23 of the 24 shots he faced in a 1-0 loss as he was bested by Igor Shesterkin (6-0-0, 2.01 GAA, .929 save percentage in the postseason). The latter hasn't allowed more than three goals in a start since March 26 in the regular season against the Flyers.
The Hurricanes have plenty of expiring contracts, including Brind'Amour. But on the ice, Jake Guentzel, the big trade deadline acquisition, will likely price his way out of Raleigh. Tony DeAngelo, Jordan Martinook, Brett Pesce, Skjei and Teuvo Teravainen are all UFAs after the season ends, so the championship window is closing in Raleigh, or at least it will be readjusted with different personnel should things not end well this season. So Game 3 is crucial. Will there be too much pressure on the team down in an 0-2 hole? Or will the Canes make a series of it and come back from the depths?
Backing Carolina at a heavy price is risky business, and playing the puck line against Shesterkin is insanity. Plus, we don't know what we're getting from Kochetkov, who has been inactive for almost a calendar month. The best to hope for is that we have fewer power-play chances for the Rangers, which is where half of their goals have come in this series, and Kochetkov can get hot quick. Banking on the Under is your best bet.
- Under 5.5 (-110 at FanDuel)
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Colorado Avalanche 
at Dallas Stars 
Man, the late-night game screwed me both ways last night. Personally, I had a parlay with the Over (5.5) in the Bruins-Panthers game and Oilers ML (-130). It was looking good at 4-1, and I went to bed. When I woke up...SURPRISE! Hopefully, tonight's late-window game isn't as crazy.
Of course, if you were a Dallas bettor in Game 1, you might have been in my boat like last night. Stars ML bettors could have felt good after 20 minutes on Tuesday night and hit the sack early. Ryan Suter, Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn gave the team a 3-0 lead heading to the room.
Dallas got in trouble like Carolina has been getting in trouble in their series. Penalties to Evgenii Dadonov and Craig Smith resulted in a pair of power-play goals for the red-hot Valeri Nichushkin and Cale Makar, and in the blink of an eye in the second period, Colorado was down just 3-2 and it had life again.
Nathan MacKinnon struck just 39 seconds into the third period to beat Jake Oettinger, and American Airlines Center fell silent for a while. That's how the scoring stayed until Miles Wood struck in the extra session and Colorado completed the comeback.
It was beautiful if you had the Over, as a 3-3 game is a guaranteed winning betslip whichever way the puck bounces. We'll go right back to that well, too.
Colorado has cashed the Over in five of six games, and Game 1 in this series was actually the team's lowest scoring performance of the playoffs. The Avs scored five or more goals in every game of the series against the Winnipeg Jets, and they're averaging a healthy 5.4 goals per game in the postseason. The Avs have allowed three goals in each of the past two games, too, as Alexandar Georgiev can be giving.
- Over 6.5 (+100 at BetMGM)
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NHL Parlays Tonight
2-Way Parlay (+272 at FanDuel)
- Under 5.5 (-110) - Rangers at Hurricanes
- Over 6.5 (-105) - Avalanche at Stars
