The total has stayed UNDER in most of these two team's earlier playoff games, and I would expect Tuesday's Game 3 to be more of a defensive battle than the nine-goal barrage in Sunday's contest. My lean would be towards Minnesota taking the 2-1 series edge with a win at home, but I am betting the total stays UNDER on an anticipated 5.5-goal line.

It what should be a back-and-forth series that once again goes the distance, I will go with Pittsburgh to regain the series edge with a victory on Tuesday night.

The Sharks should put up a much better effort in Game 2, but given the roll that Vegas is currently on, I am not about to start betting against the Golden Knights on their home ice.

The wear and tear on Boston heading into Saturday’s series opener is a big concern against the well-rested Lightning. My lean is towards Tampa Bay in Game 1, but I am going with the OVER on six goals as my ‘best bet’ pick.

My lean is towards the home team closing things out with a win, but I am betting that Game 5 goes OVER with both sides having success lighting the lamp.

Given the way that Tampa Bay dominated the first two games at home, I would lay the 1.5 goals on the puck line and take the Lightning to win by two or more goals on Saturday to end this series in five games.

Ovechkin netted his third goal of the playoffs to help win Game 4 and Holtby has turned away 56 of the last 59 shots he has faced making the Capitals my pick to win Game 5.

There is no way I can bet against Vegas to pull off the sweep, but I will bet on another grinder this Tuesday night that stays UNDER the total line.

This series is closer than most bettors might think, and I am banking on Minnesota evening things up in Game 4.

Ride the trend this Tuesday night with Columbus and the OVER as a pair of solid plays.

My ‘best bet’ pick for Game 2 is a series-tying victory by the Ducks in another low-scoring affair.

Look for the Bruins to keep the pressure on to grab the early 2-0 lead in this series.

I like the Lightning’s chances to sweep the first two games at home, but the ‘best bet’ could be the OVER on a probable total line of six.

I am banking on a series split this Saturday night given how hard it is to beat the same team twice in three nights on the road.

Lay the 1.5 goals on the puck line to get better odds on a Penguins’ win this Saturday night.

Boston just knocked off Tampa Bay 4-2 on Thursday night as -120 home favorites and I like their chances to pull off the Florida sweep by beating the Panthers on Saturday.

This will be a tight matchup, but I am betting on the Wild pulling off the three-game season sweep at Xcel Energy Center in the first of this home-and-home series.

I would bet this game on the more favorable puck line with the Maple Leafs covering the 1.5 goals this time around.

While Vegas is the second-highest scoring team in the NHL with 3.3 goals per game, Colorado is just a notch down on the list with an average of 3.2. I would go with the OVER in this one with an anticipated six-goal total line.

The Lightning is far too good of a team to not bounce back from a terrible loss with a massive win against a bitter rival on their home ice.