NHL Bets Today: Stanley Cup Playoffs Picks and Parlays for Saturday, May 11

NHL Bets Today: Stanley Cup Playoffs Picks and Parlays for Saturday, May 11

This article is part of our NHL Picks series.

NHL Parlay Picks: Expert NHL Bets Tonight (May 11, 2024)

We have two games on the National Hockey League postseason slate for Saturday night, with the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes meeting in Game 4 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., and the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche tangling in Game 3 at Ball Arena in Denver. The first matchup has a puck drop slated for 7 p.m. on TNT, and the latter can be viewed at 10 p.m. ET, also on TNT. Let's get started!

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Best NHL Picks Tonight

New York Rangers at Carolina Hurricanes  

The Rangers pushed the Hurricanes to the brink of elimination with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 3 on Thursday night at PNC Arena.

New York has won the past two games in an extra session, as it won 4-3 in double-overtime in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden. All three games have been decided by a single goal, yet Carolina is in an 0-3 series hole, and facing the potential of a handshake line on Saturday.

If Carolina loses this series, it will have the penalty kill, and struggling power play, as the likely reasons. While the Hurricanes killed all four power plays in Game 3, it allowed a shorthanded goal to Chris Kreider, while going 0-for-5 on the power play themselves. The Hurricanes posted 47 shots on goal, but only managed to slip two past Igor Shesterkin, who hasn't allowed more than three goals since late March in the regular season.

The Hurricanes are a dismal 0-for-15 on the power play in this series, while the Rangers were 2-for-2 on the man advantage in Game 1, and 2-for-7 in Game 2. The Canes did better clamping down on the Rangers on the power play in Game 3, but Carolina needs to get well in a hurry on its power play, or face the broom in Game 4.

Pyotr Kochetkov took the net for Carolina in Game 3, making his first appearance of the postseason. Frederik Andersen received the ball cap and clipboard after coughing up eight goals in the first two games in New York. Prior to this series, he hasn't allowed more than three goals in a game since late October in Los Angeles in the second game of the season.

The Canes are staring at the potential of their season-ending via sweep for the second consecutive season. While they lost to the Florida Panthers in similar fashion last season, losing four one-goal games in that series, all in very competitive games, that's not good enough. Carolina was considered the favorite to win the Stanley Cup by some books heading into these playoffs.

The Under cashed in Game 3, and it's a good bet for Game 4. We should see the Hurricanes playing with desperation, selling out on the defensive end for blocked shots, doing whatever they can to extend their season. And the Rangers aren't likely to take silly chances, risking mistake, giving the Carolina crowd a reason to get loud.

  • Under 5.5 (-108 at FanDuel)

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Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche  

The Stars and Avalanche split the first two game of the series in American Airlines Center, and it's been a wild ride.

Dallas started off with three goals in the first period of Game 1. The Stars couldn't hold that lead. Valeri Nichushkin and Cale Makar registered two power-play goals in the second period to make a game of it, Nathan MacKinnon tied it up just 39 seconds into the third, and Miles Wood completed the comeback with a 4-3 OT win.

The Stars fans were cautious in Game 2. Miro Heiskanen opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period, and Roope Hintz added a goal at 1:57 of the second period to make it 2-0. Heiskanen was back with a power-play goal at 15:54 of the second, and Tyler Seguin had a shorthanded goal to make it 4-0. But even that lead proved not to be safe.

In the third period, Joel Kiviranta, Brandon Duhaime and Nichushkin scored three goals in 16:16, as Dallas fans were having that old, terrible feeling again. Wyatt Johnston was whistled for high-sticking, the Avs pulled the goalie, and we had a 6-on-4 power play, as the Avs tried to tie it up. But Esa Lindell made everyone breathe a sigh of relief with an empty-net goal with 21 seconds left to clinch the series-tying win.

We've had 15 goals in the two games, and it's been a stark contrast to the series for Dallas, which saw the Under cash in five of the final six games. However, Colorado is driving this Over train. The total has gone high in six of seven playoff games, with the Avs averaging 5.0 GPG on offense, and allowing 3.3 GPG. Go high, and feel confidently in doing so in the Mile High City.

  • Over 6.5 (-105 at BetMGM)

NHL Parlays Tonight 

2-Way Parlay (+270 at FanDuel)

  • Under 5.5 (-108) - Rangers at Hurricanes
  • Over 6.5 (-108) - Stars at Avalanche

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Dobish
Hockey writer, unskilled fourth liner, fantasy and gambling industry veteran, handicapper, FSWA's 2011 fantasy hockey writer of the year nominee and four-time FSWA award winner. Twitter: @danieledobish
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