Free NHL Eastern Conference Playoffs Picks, Best Bets, and Parlays for 5/18/22

Last night, Tampa Bay showed what most of us already know, they are going to be very tough to beat in their run for a 3rd straight Stanley Cup. They went into South Florida and shut down the high-flying Panthers 4-1. Tonight the Rangers travel to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes in what should be another good series. Carolina is heavily favored to advance, but don’t count New York out.

We missed our Best Bet last night as we correctly picked Colorado to win but we missed the spread as Jordan Binnington was incredible for the Blues in a losing cause. Our Best Bet of the Day record is now 56-39 since the All-Star Break.

We went 1-1 betting the MoneyLine as we are kicking ourselves for not picking Tampa Bay ove Florida. We went with Florida figuring the Lightning might be a little leg-weary after their hard-fought over win Toronto in Game 7. Our overall record is now 369-207 as the playoffs continue.

The run for the Stanley Cup continues today with 2 more games on the schedule. Let’s see what Vegas is thinking about the New York-Carolina Game 1 matchup.

New York at Carolina: The Rangers come into Raleigh tonight with a ton of momentum, after winning the final 3 games against Pittsburgh to advance to Round 2. They showed a lot of heart and toughness and that should give them added confidence down the road. Igor Shesterkin struggled in goal early in the Penguins series, but rebounded in the final three games and returned to his regular season form. Obviously, he is a big key for New York. Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox combined for 6 goals and 15 assists and Chris Kreider chipped in with 5 goals and 2 assists on the offensive end. The Rangers had 13 players who scored a goal in the opening round, so they have several people who can score. Meanwhile, Carolina took seven games as well to eliminate the stubborn Boston Bruins. They took full advantage of having home ice as they won all four of their games in Raleigh. They have been very difficult to beat in their building and that is a big factor in this series. The Hurricanes don’t have flashy numbers on offense but they are balanced and get scoring from several people. Their strength is their defense and ability to win close games. Their starting goaltender in the regular season, Frederik Andersen, missed the entire first round and his listed as day-to-day. Backup, Antti Raanta has filled in very well with a 2.37 goals against average and a save percentage of 92.7%. This should be a tight-checking low scoring series between these two teams. Expect a close one tonight, and the Rangers have a good chance to pull off an upset, but until someone knocks off the Hurricanes at home I’m sticking with them. PAPA DUDES PICK: Bet the MoneyLine on Carolina -170