Free NHL Eastern Conference Playoffs Picks, Best Bets, and Parlays for 5/14/22

Last night was another great night of hockey as we now will have 5 first round series that will be settled by a final winner-take-all 7th game. Florida eliminated the Capitals, but Dallas and the Rangers won their games to extend their first round matchups to the limit. Today we have a tripleheader of three fantastic Game 7’s in what should be a great day of hockey. It’s going to be a challenge trying to figure these games out.

We cashed our our Best Bet last night as Florida came from behind and knocked off the Capitals who played about as well as they could. Our Best Bet of the Day record is now 54-38 since the All-Star Break.

We went only 2-1 betting the MoneyLine missing the Calgary loss at Dallas. Our overall record is now 363-206 as the playoffs continue.

Even though we picked Calgary to win betting the MoneyLine we went with Dallas to pull off the upset in our Parlay. That turned out to be a good decision as we turned a $15 Bet in to a $78 Payout.

The run for the Stanley Cup continues today with 3 more games on the schedule. Let’s see what Vegas is thinking about the two Eastern Conference Game 7’s and try and pick a couple of winners. I might just flip a coin on them both.

*PAPA DUDES BEST BET OF THE DAY* Boston at Carolina: The series is tied at 3-3: The first 6 games of this series have all been won by the home team. And other than a 4-2 win for Boston in Game 4, all of them have been decided by 3 or more goals. So, while the series is close, the individual games have not been according to the final scores. Boston is a tough team to eliminate from the playoffs and Carolina is seeing first-hand how difficult they are to beat. Brad Marchand has led the way with 4 goals and 7 assists and Patrice Bergeron has chipped in with three more. Goalie, Jeremy Swayman was inserted into the lineup after Game 2 and has been solid, winning 3 out of 4 starts. He has a 2.51 goals against average and has saved 91% of the shots he has faced. In Game 7’s, the goalies are always under great pressure, and he will have to play well. Carolina has gotten scoring from several different players, as 4 skaters lead the way with 3 goals. Antti Raanta has been solid in goal, especially at home, and has stopped 136 of the 146 shots he has faced. The Hurricanes have dominated Boston, in Raleigh, outscoring them 15-4 in the previous three games. Can the Bruins reverse the trend in this elimination game? I will be shocked if this turns out to be a blowout because Boston is going to bring everything they have. However, I can’t discount the fact that Carolina has lost only 8 games at home all year long. I’m sticking with the Hurricanes. PAPA DUDES BEST BET: Bet the MoneyLine on Carolina -140

Tampa Bay at Toronto: The series is tied 3-3: Can we just take a deep breath and say this has been a series that could easily have been for the Stanley Cup? Both of these teams are evenly matched and both are as good as anybody in the league. It is a shame for all of us hockey fans, that one of them will be eliminated tonight, and we won’t get to watch them anymore this season. They are both loaded with stars and this game is impossible to predict. There are so many angles to take and arguments could be made for both sides. One major difference that I’m looking at is the two goaltenders. Andrei Vasilevskiy has been average, by his standards in this series, with poor goals against and save percentage stats. However, a lot of that can be attributed to the offense of Toronto. We all know how good Vasilevskiy has been in these type of games and he will play well. The Maple Leafs will counter with Jack Campbell and this will be the biggest game of his life. As far as experience in big games for the two goalies, Tampa Bay has a huge edge. And then there is the pressure that the Maple Leafs are facing, to finally win a series ending game, and move on to the 2nd round. It will be an enormous gorilla on every players’ back when they take the ice tonight. And, they are going to have to dethrone the 2-time defending champions who are so experienced in these types of situations. So, the stage is set for a can’t miss game if you are a hockey fan. I have a quarter out to flip on who to select in this one. Heads for the Lightning, tails for Toronto. It came up heads. PAPA DUDES PICK: Bet the MoneyLine on Tampa Bay +120