The NHL playoffs heat up the ice tonight as two series that can be clinched are slated for Friday, May 3. First up is the Vancouver Canucks heading to Nashville to face off against the Predators.
Later, the Dallas Stars head to Las Vegas to battle against the defending Stanley Cup Golden Knights. Both Vancouver and Dallas own a 3-2 series lead over their opponents.
What players should bettors observe Friday night that will have strong showings in their critical contests? We’ll cover four of the best NHL player prop bets for tonight’s playoff schedule.
Vancouver has a chance to wrap up their Western Conference first-round playoff series tonight against Nashville in this pivotal Game 6 matchup. The winner moves on to the semifinals to face Edmonton in the conference semifinal.
The Canucks have dominated this series with top performances from center Dakota Joshua and right wing Brock Boeser. Both Boeser and Joshua rank second and third, respectively, for Vancouver in scoring, but they trail center J.T. Miller in points for the series.
While Miller prefers to assist with the goals, I expect the center to take a more aggressive approach for the offense tonight. The 31-year-old recorded nine of his 13 shots this series on the road, making him the best candidate to record the most shots on goal in Friday’s game.
The Stars are one win away from advancing to a semifinal matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, needing to win on Las Vegas’ home ice in order to secure their second consecutive trip to the second round.
To advance, they’ll need to beat the Golden Knights, the team that eliminated Dallas last season in the Western Conference Championship series. The Stars ranked third in scoring this season thanks to center Wyatt Johnston’s emergence.
The 2021 first-round draft pick scored 32 goals in the regular season and poured in three more during this series. Expect Johnston to secure one more goal (at least) tonight when Dallas attempts to clinch the series.
Nashville advanced to the postseason with an offense that ranked 10th in goals scored this season. They needed that as their goalies allowed 248 goals against in the 2023-24 season, ranking in the middle of the pack.
To survive and advance for a decisive Game 7, the Predators will need goalie Juuse Saros to have an outstanding game tonight. Saros is sixth in the league with his record of 35-24-5, but the Finnish athlete allowed 2.86 goals per regular season outing.
Saros has yet to record more than 19 saves against the Canucks. He’s faced no more than 21 shots on goal for any game this series, so predicting Saros would notch 24 saves against the Canucks would be a bad wager for bettors.
After leading the team in points through the regular season, Jonathan Marchessault has been quiet in this series against Dallas. Marchessault scored a team-best 13 goals last postseason as Las Vegas won the Stanley Cup finals.
This year, however, the 33-year-old right wing has scored only four points on two goals and two assists. Veteran center Jack Eichel has been productive, however, as the 27-year-old has scored seven points through the first five games.
His 68 points during the regular season is the highest total Eichel has produced since the 2019-2020 season. Expect Eichel to continue his torrid pace and score yet again Friday night to cover this player prop bet.
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