Oh, just a casual NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs elimination game to wet your whistle on this fine Wednesday night. It doesn’t get any better. You have the faltering Avalanche travelling to Texas looking to avoid the boot from Dallas. I’m seriously questioning if this is more of a slight snow drift down the mountain as opposed to an avalanche – they just can’t build any momentum. Poor Avs, losing a top-six guy in Val just because he decided to go party-time in the Playoffs. I hope this series keeps going, but I don’t expect it to. At least the Stars were gentlemen about it, giving the Avs one win before the four-straight sweep.
But let’s get back to a short recap of the action last night, starting with those dirty Bruins stealing one out from under the Panthers. Stick taps for the Bruins’ boys, they came out with their best effort of the playoffs in the first half of that game. An offence that previously had a case of ED – they looked like they popped two off-brand viagra in the first period. It was damn impressive …. and then, the tides turned, Boston went into shell-mode, and Florida should have at least pushed the game to OT. You got lucky Boston, it’s okay to admit it.
Shoutout to that freak Swayman though. Guy just has a shit-eating grin on his face the whole game, has positioning like Brodeur, reflexes like Roy, and the absurd save ability of Hasek. At least in the playoffs, he’s looking like the best goalie in the league (save for Shesterkin). I love this guy – the composure reminds me of a young military man that stood up for his boy with nasty spinning kicks and chiselled, washboard abs.
But then, we head back to Oiltown, where Edmonton switched up their game and got by the Canucks in OT. The bottom six for Edmonton played …. better, I guess. That third line of Vancouver is still a real problem (they were the ones out there when Van tied it up late with the empty netter). But the defence of Edmonton definitely showed through for the first time all series, and Pickard may be the saviour that everybody hoped for, but nobody deserved. As a former decent-level hockey player myself, you can’t put a price on a team’s confidence when you have a tendy that you know can make those big stops on rush chances. If you have a guy that’s shaky in the cage (such as Skinner), the morale on the team is down, everybody has it in the back of their heads that any shot might go in, and guys start to overextend themselves and get out of position because they don’t believe their tendy can make the save. Pickard is the turning point, mark my words. Very impressed with his hockey career after a long stretch on Star Trek.
But on to the action tonight, where we have a small game pick, a small team total pick, and player props for the slate. I gotta say, this is a tight one on the docket tonight, but we’re going to take our best stab at it. Let’s go people.
*Units for me will be $100. Bet responsibly.
If you want to keep up with the cash outs I’m taking, it’s easy to toss a follow on X and keep notifications on. You don’t have to take my suggested cash outs, but they are helpful in certain situations:
Game: Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars, 6:00 p.m. CST
Pick: Dallas Stars -1.5 Puckline (+175) 0.5u
Pick: Dallas Stars Over 3.5 Goals (+110) 0.5u
Pick: Heiskanen 3+ SOG (+100) 0.25u – Miro has been firing from the point, and the only time he hasn’t hit 3+ SOG in his last six games, there were numerous blocked shots. 5/6 hit rate in his last six games works for me, especially at pick em’ prices. Also plays PP1.
Pick: Seguin 3+ SOG (-120) 0.25u – The lowkey most consistent shot-getter for the Stars, Seguin’s been on fire. Before last game, he had 7 straight games with 3+ SOG. Last game, he was held to 2 SOG. 7/8 hit rate and positive regression to the mean – recipe for success baby.
That’s right, I’m calling for the closeout tonight. I just can’t see any way that Colorado gets back in this thing with the way the Stars are playing. Even if the Avs pull themselves out of the gutter and actually put forth a good performance after losing their third most important forward – it’s still likely not enough to win tonight. The reason: Dallas’ team defence, straight up locking down the Avs forwards and throwing away the key. Michael Schofield couldn’t even escape this lock up.
For real though, watch those last few games back. I know the Chiclet’s guy touched on this too, but it’s so easy to see that Dallas is playing some of the best supportive hockey I’ve seen in some time. The third forward is always high on the forecheck, the backcheck is insane (allowing Stars defender’s to gap-up), and the center is always helping out his d-men in the defensive zone. It’s literally a wet dream for any coach to have all the boys buzzing like this in a structured system – and there is no better team at it in the Playoffs right now. If you’re an Avs player, you have to feel trapped out there with no way out. Well, Ron Burgundy says that you can join the club.
And let’s be real, if Dallas is winning in regulation going into the last five minutes, Georgiev is getting pulled early, and there will be plenty of chances to hit both the Team Over and the Puckline for a double winner. At least that’s what I’m hoping; I’ve seen better teams lose to worse teams (just last night actually in Florida). You also have the fact that Dallas has covered the Puckline and this Team Over in each of their last three games against the Avs. The only way we lose is if Dallas shit’s down their leg with a bad effort at home, so I’ve already taken the liberty of sending them a case of Pepto-Bismol to prevent this. You’re welcome, Stars fans.
But that’s it people. I will be posting another betting article soon with more NHL Playoff game bets. If you want to make sure you don’t miss these articles, follow me on X at @plusmoneypost as I will be sharing them there.
Summary of Picks
Game: Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars, 6:00 p.m. CST
Pick: Dallas Stars -1.5 Puckline (+175) 0.5u
Pick: Dallas Stars Over 3.5 Goals (+110) 0.5u
Pick: Heiskanen 3+ SOG (+100) 0.25u
Pick: Seguin 3+ SOG (-120) 0.25u