The Stanley Cup Playoffs resume on Saturday, and we're back to the Eastern Conference Final between the Carolina Hurricanes (0-2) and the Florida Panthers (2-0). This series has been all Panthers, as they won both games in Raleigh by scores of 5-2 and 5-0. We shift to Sunrise, Florida, and tonight's contest gets underway at 8:00 p.m. ET from Amerant Bank Arena.
I'm heading to PrizePicks to lock in a few player predictions. Below you'll find my top three NHL PrizePicks player predictions. If you opt for the Power Play and all three cash, they'll net us a 5x multiplier.
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The Stanley Cup Playoffs resume on Saturday, and we're back to the Eastern Conference Final between the Carolina Hurricanes (0-2) and the Florida Panthers (2-0). This series has been all Panthers, as they won both games in Raleigh by scores of 5-2 and 5-0. We shift to Sunrise, Florida, and tonight's contest gets underway at 8:00 p.m. ET from Amerant Bank Arena.
I'm heading to PrizePicks to lock in a few player predictions. Below you'll find my top three NHL PrizePicks player predictions. If you opt for the Power Play and all three cash, they'll net us a 5x multiplier.
Our PrizePicks Cheat Sheet helps bettors by comparing lines from PrizePicks vs. our daily NHL projections >>
Saturday’s Best NHL PrizePicks Player Predictions
The Panthers have been rolling offensively, averaging 4.4 goals per game across their last five contests. Matthew Tkachuk logged an assist in each of the opening games (one goal, two assists), and he now has exactly one assist in five of his last seven games.
With the Cats returning home, I don't anticipate the Hurricanes magically finding their defensive form and shutting down Florida. I'll play Tkachuk, who's averaging 16:27 time on ice per game (TOI/G) and playing on the top power-play unit, to pick up an assist at home tonight. He has eight helpers in 14 playoff games.
If the Hurricanes are going to get back in this series, they'll need top-line winger Andrei Svechnikov to step up. He picked up an assist in Game 1, but was blanked in Game 2. I'll take Svechnikov, who leads the team in shots on goal (SOG) with 36, to log three or more SOG tonight in Sunrise.
Svechnikov failed to eclipse the mark in the opening games (o, 1), but did clear it in six of his previous seven games (3, 3, 3, 1, 3, 9, 6). He's logging 18:21 TOI/G this postseason, as well as occupying an integral spot on the top power-play unit. Give me Svechnikov to muster up a measly three shots tonight.
These two teams have been laying the lumber through the first two games of the series. Carolina out-hit Florida in Game 1 (50-47), while the opposite was true in Game 2 (56-42). Jordan Staal, the Canes' third-line center, has eclipsed this number in each contest (7, 10). He's gone for five or more hits in each of his last four contests overall (7, 10, 7, 5).
I also like that this line is a flat five, giving us push potential if Game 3 doesn't happen to be as physical as expected. These are two of the more physical teams in the postseason, with Florida averaging 48.1 hits per game and Carolina landing 41.1 hits per contest. Give me Staal to record more than five hits in this pivotal clash.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Saturday:
