Top 2 NHL Betting Picks for Thursday, August 6 (2020)
The Stanley Cup playoffs roll on Thursday with a five-game slate. On Tuesday, we went 2-1, just missing the over in the Hurricanes-Rangers game as James Reimer put on a show to help the ‘Canes advance. Let’s take a look at two plays for today that will provide us value in hopes of keeping our momentum going.
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Vancouver Canucks (-110) vs. Minnesota Wild (-110)
The Wild took the first game of this series with a dominate 3-0 performance. However, the Canucks responded in game 2, scoring within the first minute and not relenting the rest of the way, as they went on victorious. J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat led the way with two points each and the Wild’s Kevin Fiala, who seems to score every game since before the stoppage, scored twice for Minnesota.
Although Vancouver dominated a majority of the second game from the get-go, the Wild showed resolve by battling back with two late goals to pull within one.
Zach Parise acknowledged in his postgame comments that his team lacked energy from puck drop and weren’t prepared to play – I’m looking for this veteran laden team to respond strongly and take game 3.
Toronto Maple Leafs (-175) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (+148)
After getting shut out in the opener, Toronto returned the favor in game 2, shutting out the Jackets in a dominate performance. Goaltender, Joonas Korpisalo, played out his mind for Columbus yet again, but it wasn’t enough as the Leafs went on to win 3-0.
Toronto came out of the gate hot, playing with speed and relentless pressure. This led to a myriad of turnovers and penalties for Columbus that they were never able to recover from.
Although they finally got on the board for the first time in this series, the Leafs had trouble finding the net and are still trying to find themselves as a whole offensively. They also unfortunately lost key veteran defenseman, Jake Muzzin, to a scary injury that has forced him out for the remainder of the series, which hurts their blueline significantly.
As we’ve seen in recent seasons, John Tortorella’s teams don’t put up back-to-back clunkers. I believe we’ll see this team come out hot in the first period and set the tone.
Pick: Columbus 1P ML (+125)
Note: If the score is tied at the end of the first period, the bet is deemed a push
Overall Playoff Record: 7-4
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Jordan Anderson is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jordan, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @Jordan_A03.