Free NHL Western Conference Playoff Finals Picks, Best Bets, and Parlays for 5/31/22

We now are down to only 4 teams left for a chance to grab the Stanley Cup. Last night in Carolina, the Rangers finished off the Hurricanes 6-2 and will head on the play the Tampa Bay Lightning in a best of 7 series beginning tomorrow night in New York. The LIghtning haven’t played in 9 days and it will be interesting to see how they react after having all that time off. And, tonight the Western Conference Finals begin with Game 1 between two high-scoring teams in a series that has the potential to be a shootout.

Yesterday we went with the Hurricanes to beat the Rangers so the Best Bet was very wrong. Our Best Bet of the Day record drops to 60-46 since in 2022.

We went 0-1 betting the MoneyLine and our overall record is now 379-215 since the All-Star break.

Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s game between Edmonton and Colorado and see what Vegas is thinking.

*PAPA DUDES BEST BET OF THE DAY* Edmonton at Colorado: Game 1 begins tonight in Denver as the Edmonton Oilers come into Colorado to take on the favored Avalanche. The Oilers come into the series after eliminating Los Angeles in 7 games in the 1st round, and the Flames in 5 games in Round 2. They are on a roll winning the final 4 games over heavily favored Calgary. The Oilers are the highest scoring team left in the playoffs and are led by superstars, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl who both have scored 7 goals and amassed 19 assists. That is an average of 2.2 points per game. Evander Kane has scored a playoff leading 12 goals and Zach Hyman has chipped in 8 more. As a team, Edmonton has scored 52 goals in their 12 games. Obviously, Colorado is going to have to find a way to slow them down if they are going to win. The big question mark for the Oilers will be their defense and the goaltending. Mike Smith has an 8-3 record but has had some shaky moments. They are definitely a red-hot team and have the potential to pull off an upset over the Avs. Colorado disposed overmatched Nashville in a 4-game sweep in the first round. In the conference semifinals, they handled St.Louis 4-2 in a series that they dominated at times, and the Blues are a very good team. They have balanced scoring and many players that can put the puck in the net. Nathan MacKinnon has led the way with 8 goals and he has plenty of support from Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen. They are about as potent offensively as Edmonton, as they have scored 43 goals in their 10 playoff games. But, they have been much better defensively and that might be the difference in this series. If Darcy Kuemper holds up in goal, they have the capability to slow down the Oilers high-flying offense. Kuemper has been steady, with a 2.44 goals against average. However, his save percentage is only 90.7%. This should be an exciting series between an up and coming Edmonton team and the outstanding Colorado Avalanche. I like the Avalanche in 6 to win the series and I’m taking them in game 1 tonight. PAPA DUDES BEST BET: Bet the MoneyLine on Colorado -180