Free NHL Western Conference Playoffs Picks, Best Bets, and Parlays for 5/17/22

Top-seeded Colorado has been sitting around watching other teams play as they swept Nashville in 4 games. They will take on the St.Louis Blues who have been off since eliminating Minnesota in 6 games last Thursday. So, these are two well-rested teams ready to get it going tonight.

We cashed our Best Bet Sunday night as Calgary beat Dallas and goaltender, Jake Oettinger in overtime 3-2. Our Best Bet of the Day record is now 56-38 since the All-Star Break.

We went 2-0 betting the MoneyLine as we correctly picked the winners in both of those difficult 7th games. Our overall record is now 368-206 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 St.Louis-Colorado Game 1 matchup.

*PAPA DUDES BEST BET OF THE DAY* St.Louis at Colorado: This series is, arguably, a matchup of the two best teams in the West. Both can score goals in bunches and can rollout 4 lines that are efficient and dangerous. They both have scoring depth and there are 16 players from these two teams that scored at least 21 goals in the regular season. Colorado is led by Nathan MacKinnon who scored 5 goals in the 4 games against Nashville. Cale Makar was excellent as well in Round 1. They have so many other guys that can kill you at any time. Goalie, Darcy Kuemper is steady between the pipes and had a 1.63 goals against average against the Predators. The Avs are a very good hockey team. Meanwhile, the Blues have quietly stepped up their game for the past six weeks and are playing some pretty good hockey themselves. They can get scoring from a bunch of guys as well and David Perron, Ryan O’Reilly, and Vladimir Tarasenko all had 5 goals in Round 1, against a very good Minnesota team. The key for the Blues is the play of their defense and the goaltending of Jordan Binnington. Binnington wasn’t the starter when the Minnesota series began, but after losing two of the first three games, he was inserted into the lineup and was spectacular as the Blues won the final 3 games. If he continues to play well, the underrated Blues have a chance at an upset of the heavily favored Avalanche. St.Louis is going to have to win a game in Colorado and tonight could be their best chance, but I’m sticking with Colorado in a close one. PAPA DUDES PICK: Bet Colorado -1.5