NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (5/6)

Tuesday’s NHL best bets feature the day’s two-game slate with a scheduled first puck drop of 7 p.m. ET.  

With our FTN betting package, you’ll get picks from everyone at FTN, plus tools, projections and access to Discord, where I’ll discuss every slate.

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Today’s Best NHL Bets

Edmonton/Vegas Over 6.5

(-109, BetRivers, 2.18 units to win 2 units)

Everything we’ve seen so far in the Stanley Cup playoffs suggests this Edmonton/Vegas series is going to continue the trend of high-scoring contests. Edmonton is on fire. After dropping the first two games of their series against the Kings, they won four in a row and combined to score 20 goals in the process. It’s even a more amazing feat knowing that they were able to do so on one of the best goaltenders in hockey in Darcy Kuemper. The drop off from Kuemper and the Golden Knights’ No. 1 goalie, Adin Hill, is quite significant. Kuemper ended the regular season with a 26.94 GSAA, which was good enough for third in the league. Hill ended the season with an 8.64 GSAA, 17^th. Hill had a tough time in Round 1 when facing Minnesota on rushes and odd-manned attacks. He’s going to see quite a lot of rushes and odd-manned attacks against a fast and aggressive Oilers team that is playing with confidence. On the other end, 33-year-old Calvin Pickard has been this year’s feel-good story, but I’m absolutely not going to be fooled. He’s had luck on his side since taking over the No. 1 spot from a mediocre Stuart Skinner, and I doubt he’s going to be able to sustain this for anywhere close to 12 more wins in the postseason. I would not be surprised if this series will eventually see totals climb to 7 by the time it’s all said and done. I’m going to kick things off with a big bet to win 2 units and may continue to ride the over throughout the course of the series.

Florida Panthers to Win Series vs. Toronto

(+102, FanDuel Sportsbook, 3 units to win 3.06 units)

I see a ton of value on the Panthers to come back and take this series against the Leafs. Last night, Leafs No. 1 goaltender Anthony Stolarz was knocked out of the game with a concussion. There’s no exact timetable for his return to the series, but it did appear to be a severe concussion. I’m by no means an expert, but my hunch is that it’s potentially severe enough to keep him out for the entire series. Regardless of Stolarz’s status, I think Florida’s going to be the team to beat. They are battle-tested and have obviously shown an ability to win huge games and huge series after taking home the Stanley Cup last year. In contrast, the Leafs have notoriously turtled in big games and haven’t even made it to the Conference Finals since they were in the Campbell Conference, which doesn’t even exist anymore. I feel oddly comfortable taking the Panthers to bring home this series and will wager 3 units worth at plus money.

Additional bets may be posted on Discord.

Goal Scorers

Alex Ovechkin
Andrei Svechnikov
Shayne Gostisbehere
Jakob Chychrun
Leon Draisaitl
Corey Perry
Jack Eichel