This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
NHL Picks and Parlays: Expert NHL Bets Tonight (April 30, 2024)
We have a total of four National Hockey League playoff games on the schedule for Tuesday night. The Eastern Conference has a pair of Game 5 battles, as the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins face each other at TD Garden at 7 p.m. ET, and the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes tangle at PNC Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET.
In the late window, the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets square off at 9:30 p.m. ET at Canada Life Centre in one of the Western Conference battles, while the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks tangle at 10 p.m. ET. Let's get started!
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Best NHL Picks Tonight
Toronto Maple Leafs 
at Boston Bruins 
The Maple Leafs seized home-ice advantage with a victory at TD Garden in Game 2, but Toronto did its traditional playoff egg-laying at home with a pair of losses to fall into a 3-1 series hole heading back to Massachusetts. We've seen this movie before.
Jeremy Swayman (25-10-8, 2.53 GAA, .916 SV%, 3 SO - regular season) has been a brick wall for Boston in these playoffs, winning all three of his starts, while allowing just four total goals on 91 shots, good for a 1.34 GAA and .956 SV%.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe is switching things up on their back end, turning to Joseph Woll (12-11-1, 2.94 GAA, .907 SV% - regular season) to start Game 5. He stopped all five of the shots he faced in 17:23 of work in his Game 4 relief appearance an ineffective Ilya Samsonov.
The problems for the Leafs go a lot deeper than goaltender, though. Auston Matthews, who had 69 regular-season goals to lead the NHL, has managed just one goal and three points in four playoff games. He is tied with Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi for the most points in these playoffs among Leafs. Seven different Leafs have scored, and none has more than a single goal in the postseason.
It's golf time, boys! Polish up the TaylorMades. Back Boston, and go high on the total, as things are going to get away from the Leafs in a hurry in the second period, and especially the third, as reality sets in.
- Bruins ML (-150 at ESPN Bet)
- Over 5.5 (-128 at FanDuel)
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New York Islanders 
at Carolina Hurricanes 
The Islanders return to Raleigh looking to stave off elimination. New York picked up a 3-2 win in double-overtime in Game 4 to extend the series.
Truth be told, the Islanders haven't played bad hockey in this series. An unfortunate couple of bounces have led to losses, but it realistically could be a 3-1 series the other way. The Canes won 3-1 in Game 1, but a late empty-net goal made it look further apart than it was. New York led 3-1 in Game 2 midway through the third period before Semyon Varlamov and the Isles collapsed.
In Game 3, the Isles entered the third period down 3-2, but couldn't level the score. And, of course, the marathon Game 4, which saw the Islanders win in 2OT.
The Hurricanes were in this spot last season, and lost at PNC Arena in Game 5, sending the series back to Long Island. They learned and will get the Isles to the handshake line this time around in a low-scoring game. Back the Islanders on the puck line, though, as they'll have another heartbreaking, close loss, scratching their heads thinking about what could have been.
- Islanders PL (+1.5, -135 at BetMGM)
- Under 5.5 (-118 at FanDuel)
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Colorado Avalanche 
at Winnipeg Jets 
The Avalanche looked primed for the picking, falling 7-6 in a wild Game 1 in the 'Peg. The Avs stormed back with a 5-2 win in Game 2, seizing home-ice advantage.
Alexandar Georgiev has settled down since that initial series opener loss, as he allowed six goals on 23 shots in that awful Game 1, but he has conceded just five goals on 81 shots in the past three games, all wins, helping to push the Jets to the brink, while chopping his GAA down to 3.04 in the postseason, while improving his save percentage to .885.
The Avs have all kinds of offensive heroes, as Cale Makar leads the team with eight points (2 G, 6 A), including four points (1 G, 3 A) on the man advantage. Valeri Nichushkin has six goals, including three on the power play, to lead the team, with Artturi Lehkonen not far behind with four markers and seven points. Nathan MacKinnon has two goals and seven points, including a goal and four apples on the power play. The Avs are humming offensively, while getting much better defensively.
Winnipeg figures to have a little more desperation on home ice, though, and I can see this series getting back to Denver. Look for the Jets to scratch out a home win, and for the scores to be slightly lower.
- Jets ML (-115 at FanDuel)
- Under 6.5 (+105 at BetMGM)
Nashville Predators 
at Vancouver Canucks 
The Canucks have a mess in between the pipes...or do they?
All-Star Thatcher Demko started Game 1, just his third game back from a multi-week lower-body injury. He injured his knee, reportedly not related to the LBI which forced him out previously. Casey DeSmith replaced him in Game 2, and lost 4-1 on home ice. The Canucks looked to be in trouble, tied 1-1, with the Predators gaining home-ice advantage.
DeSmith steadied the ship, as the Canucks won 2-1. The Vancouver tendy stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced, but he might have been injured when colliding with Nashville forward Michael McCarron. He was forced to miss Game 4, meaning Arturs Silovs, the third-string goalie, would make his first-career postseason start, with Nikita Tolopilo, who has never appeared in the NHL, coming up from Abbotsford of the AHL to serve as the backup.
Silovs was tremendous in Game 4, conceding just three goals on 30 shots in a 4-3 OT win. Elias Lindholm beat Juuse Saros just 62 seconds into the extra session, while Brock Boeser had a hat trick, including two goals in the final 2:49 to force overtime. Wow.
DeSmith could potentially return for Game 5, but whomever is in between the pipes, the Canucks have confidence in them. Nashville had its shot at home to gain a grasp on this series, and it blew it. Look for the Canucks to handshake them Tuesday.
- Canucks ML (-125 at DraftKings)
NHL Parlays Tonight
7-Way Massive Parlay (+5005 at FanDuel)
- Islanders PL (+1.5) and Under 5.5 at Hurricanes - SGP +168
- Bruins ML and Over 5.5 vs. Maple Leafs - SGP +185
- Jets ML and Under 6.5 vs. Avalanche - SGP +269
- Canucks ML (-125) vs. Predators
4-Way Sides Parlay (+904 at FanDuel)
- Bruins ML (-152) vs. Maple Leafs
- Islanders PL (+1.5, -138) at Hurricanes
- Jets ML (-105) vs. Avalanche
- Canucks (-125) vs. Predators
3-Way Totals Parlay (+558 at FanDuel)
- Over 5.5 (-128) - Maple Leafs at Bruins
- Under 5.5 (-118) - Islanders at Hurricanes
- Under 6.5 (+100) - Avalanche at Jets
2-Way Same-Game Parlay (+185 at FanDuel)
- Bruins ML and Over 5.5 vs. Maple Leafs - SGP +185
