2024 NHL Playoffs Best Bets: Four Picks for April 23, 2024

Wow, these Playoffs have absolutely lived up to the hype coming off a historic regular season. Who could have seen that Hurricanes comeback coming last night?! What a tough beat for NYI fans. I feel for you. Then you had a surprising road game steal by the boys in blue. Toronto now becomes the favourite in that series heading home for games three and four. And then you have the LTIR Knights, showing up huge on the road in an upset over the Stars. I thought that was a real close game, and I’m expecting at least six games in that series with VGK finally healthy (wink wink). Finished the night off with a banger in Oiltown and it was a picturesque night for the NHL, capped by the best player on earth looking like the best player on earth.

But the beauty about the NHL Playoffs is that we can have a crazy deadly night like last night …. and then do it all over again the next night! That’s right, we’re taking shots tonight with another four bets on the exciting slate. So without further ado, let’s rock.

*Units for me will be $100 bets. Bet responsibly.

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Game: Colorado Avalanche vs Winnipeg Jets, 7:30 p.m. CST

Pick: Winnipeg Jets Moneyline (+100) 1u

I’ll be the first one to admit that my butthole was a bit puckered holding a WPG ML ticket in that first game. Man, those goals came in bunches early, and I got a little worried because traditionally, the Jets just didn’t have the firepower to stay in that type of game. Then I remembered: the additions this Winnipeg team has made since last season make this a completely different team.

The two real keys are Monahan and Vilardi. These two guys have slotted into their respective roles on lines one and two, and they have made a huge impact offensively. This only added to the firepower that was present in Scheifele, Connors, and Ehlers. Oh yeah, and they also added a perennial 30 goal scorer in Toffoli to round out the offence. These guys can score, and they’ve shown they can keep up to the likes of MacKinnon and Rantanen.

And let’s be real here: we aren’t expecting another game like last game. The O/U line is set at 6.0 goals for a reason. The Jets are going to play a better defensive game, and look to (likely) Vezina winner Hellebuyck to make some stellar saves that didn’t go his way in game one.

Meanwhile, Colorado just didn’t show me enough defensively/goaltending-wise to make me confident they can hang on the road with these Jets. We all know the woes of Colorado on the road during the regular season (31-9-1 at home, 19-16-6 on the road). I don’t know if these boys just hit the town regularly the night before regular season road games to get sauced up, but that split is too crazy to ignore. Couple that with Georgiev likely stinking up the net again, and this is just too good a spot for Winnipeg in the Whiteout. Hammer this play, and go Jets go.

Game: Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers, 5:00 p.m. CST

Pick: New York Rangers 3-Way (Regulation Time) Moneyline (-150) 1u

I mean, we all have eyes and saw that first game between these teams right? I don’t like to overreact to first games, and I don’t think I am here because of one thing: we all expected NYR to sweep or win in five, and game one just confirmed it.

Now, we have the Rangers still with a home game to go before going on the road, and priced reasonably to win in regulation time against a flat Washington team. Yeah, I like these odds.

There’s no doubt that Washington could pull an NYI performance out of their ass and really challenge the favourite to the final horn. But I just don’t think Washington has it in them tonight, and it doesn’t matter how good Lindgren plays, the offence is just overwhelming for the Rangers in comparison to the Caps.

I really liked the way the Rangers’ fourth line played in game one. Vesey and Rempe on the wing were workin, making a big impact on the game, with Goodrow held it all together. Their expected goal share on the ice was absurd. Then you had Panarin looking just like he did in his career-best regular season, making scoring chances out of nothing. Even the Zibanejad/Kreider line got in on the action. This forward group is buzzing.

Ovechkin just isn’t who he used to be unfortunately, as he didn’t even register a shot in game one. It’s a sad state of affairs when the top two lines of NYR outskill any line of WSH. The defensive comparison is tilted in the Rangers favour as well, sporting a solid top four compared to an ageing Carlson with really nothing else behind him. Lock in NYR to go up 2-0 in the series in an easy-breezy game.

Game: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers, 5:30 p.m. CST

Pick: Over 5.5 Goals (-120) 0.5u

This second game is really too close for me to call, as I think the Lightning are going to come out strong after a pretty lacklustre game one that looked a lot closer on paper than it was. Even with that subpar offensive performance on TBL’s end, the Over still almost hit in game one with five goals scored (even though one goal was a late one by TBL). I can’t see these two offensive juggernauts getting held to under six goals in tonight’s game, regardless of the solid goaltenders on either side.

Vasilevskiy last postseason: 2-4, 3.56 GAA, .875 SV%. He definitely had some good games in the playoffs, but he also had some really bad ones. Vasey has been playing better going into the playoffs this year, but his mid-season numbers were nothing to write home about. Florida had ample chances in game one, and with the same chances this game, the score could be one/two goals higher with an average Vasey performance.

Bobrovsky only had to deal with 19 shots last game: expect more this game. With the creativity of Kucherov and Point, and the finishing ability of guys like Duclair, Hagel, Stamkos …. this offence needs output to have a chance in the series, and tonight’s game feels like a prime spot for them to bust out and make this a race to 5 goals for the win. Let’s just cheer for goals in this one, sometimes it’s more fun than cheering for a team!

Game: Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks, 8:00 p.m. CST

Pick: Nashville Predators Moneyline (+135) 0.25u

One underdog pick to wet those with a plus money appetite like myself. I thought Nashville had a very good game in that first one against VAN. They played just how they like to play: up-and-down the ice at a fast pace. And it showed throughout most of the game: they led for a majority of time and had the Canucks more than a little worried. All the Preds really had to do was avoid that twelve-second double blunder and they would be up one game in this series. I think they avoid those blunders tonight and pull out the W.

Man, Juuse looked good in net after a very average season. There’s a reason this guy is thought of as a top five goalie in the NHL, and he shows up in the playoffs based on past performance (2.78 GAA and .921 SV% on a very average team in 2020). Filip Forsberg is an absolute G, and I’m expecting him to put up a few points tonight. Josi will hold down the backend, and the underrated depth of this team can sustain enough offence to make for a tight game against the primarily offensive d-core of the Canucks.

Nothing against the Canucks here at all, I just think this is a let down spot. Everyone was so excited for game one, and this might be a case of the adrenaline dump hitting back. Without that possibility considered, it’s still a razor-close game. The reliance on that nasty third line to produce top-end scoring can come back to bite this squad, and I have to go Nashville here with a small sprinkle.

Well that’s it people. I will be posting another betting article soon with 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.