NHL Stanley Cup qualifying round action continues Friday as SI Gambling analyst Roy Larking breaks down his NHL playoff best bets for the two prime time matchups on the slate.
Crunch time has arrived as NHL first round playoff action concludes with a loaded slate of games this weekend. The Friday night card features Chicago vs. Edmonton and Minnesota vs. Vancouver. The Blackhawks and Canucks have 2-1 series leads in these best-of-five Western Conference qualifying series. The Oilers and Wild are trying to force a Game 5 and both games are at Rogers Place arena in Edmonton. Quarterfinal series begin on Tuesday, August 11.
Edmonton vs. Chicago - August 7 at 6:45 PM ET
Chicago is the No. 12 seed in the West and will advance to the quarterfinal round with a win against No. 5 Edmonton tonight. Defense has been non-existent in this series as the Blackhawks and Oilers have scored 26 combined goals during the first three games. Chicago posted a 6-4 upset win during Game 1 in Edmonton last Saturday night. Rookie of the Year candidate Dominik Kubalik (2 G, 3 A) and veteran Jonathan Toews (2 G, 1 A) led the Hawks scoring attack.
Connor McDavid registered his first playoff hat trick and Edmonton tied the series with a 6-3 win in Game 2 on Monday. Chicago won a back-and-forth battle and took a 2-1 series lead with a 4-3 win in Game 4 on Wednesday. Jonathan Toews scored twice - including the game winner with 1:16 left in the third period. Chicago had a 42-26 shots on goal advantage during the first game but the Oilers have outshot the Blackhawks 63-51 over the last two contests.
Loaded with playoff tested veterans, plus receiving big contributions from younger players, gives Chicago an edge heading into Game 4. Home ice advantage hasn’t helped Edmonton very much. Chicago gets the last line change as the designated home team in this contest at Rogers Place arena. The Oilers are trailing 2-1 in this series but FanDuel bookmakers have Edmonton as the favorite. The Blackhawks postseason experience makes them an attractive underdog.
Game 4 Pick: Chicago Blackhawks (+115)
Vancouver vs. Minnesota - August 7 at 10:45 PM ET
Looking to avoid elimination, No. 10 seed Minnesota faces No. 7 seed Vancouver in Game 4 of their Western Conference qualifying series. Minnesota was strong at both ends of the ice and the Wild posted a 3-0 victory in Game 1 on Sunday. The Wild jumped out to a quick start as Kevin Fiala scored a power-play goal just 2:50 into the game. Jared Spurgeon scored twice for Minnesota and Alex Stalock stopped 28 shots to earn his first career playoff win.
Bouncing back, Vancouver played a more up-tempo style while posting a 4-3 win in Game 2 on Tuesday. Four different players scored for the Canucks and goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 32 saves to earn his first career playoff victory. This contest wasn’t as close as the score indicates as Vancouver was leading 4-1 with just 2:29 left on the clock. Kevin Fiala scored twice late but there were just nine seconds left in the game when he scored the second goal.
Vancouver took a 2-1 lead in this best-of-five series with 3-0 win on Thursday. Brock Boeser and Antoine Roussel put the Canucks up 2-0 before Elias Petterson scored an empty net goal with under two minutes left in the game. Markstrom was strong in goal again as he stopped 27 shots to earn his first career playoff shutout. Vancouver showed they can handle a heavy checking style game plus they blocked 22 shots during Game 3. Bet on the Canucks moneyline.
Game 4 Pick: Vancouver Canucks (+105)
