Top NHL Picks & Predictions: Sunday (5/3)
The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue today with four more contests. I've got you covered from a sports betting angle, as I've narrowed in on a duo of best bets from the seemingly endless postseason betting board. Here are my top NHL picks and bets for Sunday, May 3rd.
Sunday's Best NHL Bets
Last: 1-0| Postseason: 6-4 | Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
Montreal Canadiens (+136) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (-192) | O/U 5.5 (+130/-155)
It’s a Game 7 tonight in Tampa, and anything goes. Neither team has won consecutive games in this series, and four of the six games have gone to overtime. This Canadiens squad has been in a dead-even fight the whole way, matching Tampa punch for punch. Montreal is 8-2 in their last 10 road games, and Jakub Dobes stopped 32-of-33 shots in Game 6. Not to mention, he has already won twice in this building.
The underlying numbers support Montreal as a much more legitimate threat than the implied probability of roughly 43% that the moneyline suggests. These Habs are a team just trying to survive; they have a legitimate claim to the next round. Tampa opened as -275 series favorites and is now -156 after six one-goal games. What does that tell you about the market’s respect of The North?
The rub? On the other side of the ice is one Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Bolts’ netminder is the active NHL leader in playoff victories (67) and has a career .918 GAA in the postseason. He is also playing at home in a Game 7, a situation he has thrived in throughout his illustrious career, which includes back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. The Russian backstop has played in four career Game 7’s and carries a 1.51 GAA and an insane .945 SV%, but the one number that IS human is the SU record. 2-2. He has fallen as many times in Game 7 as he has triumphed.
Let’s attack that weakness and nab the Habs!
Additionally, Lane Hutson has found the scoresheet in all three road games (one goal/two assists) this series, so backing him to do so again at -175 isn’t a bad bet either.
Pick: Canadiens Moneyline (+136)
Minnesota Wild (+160) vs. Colorado Avalanche (-192) | O/U 5.5 (-130/+110)
Matt Boldy has scored in three consecutive games dating back to Game 4 against the Stars. He has four goals in those three games, including two in the final game of the series.
Boldy has four points (two goals/two assists) in four games against Colorado this season. Both goals came IN Colorado at Ball Arena, which just so happens to be the site of tonight’s Game 1! Full disclosure: All four of Boldy’s points game in a 5-2 Wild victory on February 26.
Matt Boldy is on a heater, and +155 for a guy who seemingly can’t stop finding the back of the net right now is bananas in pajamas.
Pick: Matt Boldy Anytime Goalscorer (+155)