Top 3 NHL Betting Picks for Tuesday, August 11 (2020)
After the wild and entertaining qualifying round, the official start of the NHL playoffs commences. The march to the Stanley Cup finals opens up with a four-game slate of some very intriguing matchups. Below we’ll analyze three specific games that will provide us with plenty of value.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. You can also check out our daily consensus odds for the NHL here.
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Calgary Flames (+100) vs. Dallas Stars (-120)
Unlike Dallas, Calgary had to first win a series in the qualifying round. Time will tell if playing a legitimate series with consequences will be advantageous to Calgary or not. They defeated the Winnipeg Jets in four games to move on to the round of 16. Also, important to note, is the fact they came away unscathed with no major injuries.
Dallas looked lackluster at best during their three round-robin games. Finally notching their first win Sunday against the St. Louis Blues in the shootout, after some late-game heroics by Joe Pavelski to even the score with less than a minute left.
Stars goalie Ben Bishop remains questionable for this match after being deemed “unfit to play†against the Blues. This is very important to track throughout the day as he is a game-breaker.
Calgary is known for their offense so this should be an interesting series as Dallas plays consistent low-event hockey. The Stars like to keep the game close as evidenced by their 2.58 goals-for average and 2.52 goals-against average throughout the regular season.
I believe this series will be a grind for both teams and has the potential to go seven games. However, in game 1, I believe Calgary has the edge as they’ve got momentum after displaying promising play in their series against the Jets and the uncertainty of Bishop’s health.
Pick: Calgary +100
Carolina Hurricanes (+120) vs. Boston Bruins (-140)
Carolina made quick work of the New York Rangers in the qualifying round, sweeping them in three games to advance.
Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov both put on a show and the ‘Canes surprisingly got strong goaltending performances from both Petr Mrazek and James Reimer. Making their performance all the more impressive was the fact they did this without star defenseman, Dougie Hamilton, who is slated to return for this series.
Despite leading the NHL in points during the regular season, Boston is now the 4th seed after going winless in their three round-robin games. The team quite frankly looked sluggish and their execution was poor. While the motivation for three relatively non-essential games may have been a factor, they were less than inspiring and may be a step behind Carolina in the first game of the series.
Boston has the ability to dominate any game and has much more experience than Carolina with its veteran core. I believe we see the Hurricanes carry their momentum and youthful legs into this first game.
Pick: Carolina +120
Chicago Blackhawks (+165) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (-195)
Chicago shocked most by defeating the Edmonton Oilers in the qualifier within a mere four games. They received exceptionally strong play from youngsters Kirby Dach and Dominik Kubalik – the latter who put up 5-points in the series opener. While their defense and goaltending are suspect, to say the least, there’s no denying their offensive upside.
Vegas looked phenomenal in the round-robin series en route to clinching the NO.1 seed in the Western Conference. Robin Lehner was great in net and the offense was firing on all cylinders. Even scarier, they did this without star forward, Max Pacioretty, who was out with injury but is expected to return for this series.
While Chicago has youth and obvious talent in Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, they simply aren’t as deep and well-rounded as this Golden Knights team. Look for Vegas to dominate the ‘Hawks from the get-go.
Pick: Vegas -1.5 +140
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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.