Free NHL Eastern Conference Playoffs Picks, Best Bets, and Parlays for 5/8/22

We knew last night was going to be a difficult night of betting the NHL and we were absolutely correct. And today ain’t no easier folks. These playoffs are unpredictable and that is no surprise. I’m saying upfront, I have very little confidence in any of these four games tonight and I would probably bet very little on any of them.

We missed both of our Best Bets last night as Florida continues to struggle with the Capitals and Dallas is giving Calgary fits. Our Best Bet of the Day record is now 51-35 since the All-Star Break.

We went a miserable 1-3 betting the MoneyLine as only Colorado came through with a win. Our overall record is now 350-197 as the playoffs continue.

The run for the Stanley Cup continues today with 4 more games on the schedule. Let’s see what Vegas is thinking about the two Eastern Conference games and see if we can get lucky.

*PAPA DUDES BEST BET* Carolina at Boston: Carolina leads the series 2-1: Of all the games today, this is the one I feel the best about. And, I don’t feel that good about this one. The Hurricanes took it on the chin to Boston 4-2 in Game 3, and look to bounce back today. The Bruins made a goalie change and Jeremy Swayman came in and stopped 25 shots in a solid performance. Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak each scored a goal and Boston played with the lead for the first time in the series. The Hurricanes never could get any momentum going and had too many penalties. They also have some issues at goalie as Frederik Andersen is day-to-day and Antti Raanta missed Game 3 with an injury. Despite all of the negatives, I expect the Hurricanes to come out firing today and get past the Bruins. PAPA DUDES BEST BET: Bet the MoneyLine on Carolina +110

Toronto at Tampa Bay: Toronto leads the series 2-1: This is a huge game for the Lightning as they try to win the Stanley Cup for the 3rd year in a row. They don’t want to go down 3-1 against the Maple Leafs with Game 5 in Toronto. The Maple Leafs rode the outstanding goaltending of Jack Campbell who had 32 saves, including three from point blank range as the Lightning were threatening to tie the game. The 5-2 final score is misleading as two of those goals were empty netters, but it still was a gutty performance from a Toronto team that has a ton of pressure on them. Tampa Bay knows how to respond to anything and this is the kind of game where their goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy normally is dominant. I haven’t picked a game in this series correctly yet, so I have no confidence today either. But, I’m sticking with the champs. PAPA DUDES PICK: Bet the MoneyLine on the Lightning -125