NHL Picks: Hockey Best Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for May 11
There are two games on the slate for Thursday. The early game features the Devils at the Hurricanes, a series that could end tonight with a Carolina win. The Hurricanes are up 3-1 in the series after blowing out the Devils, 6-1, in Game 4. This game currently sits with the Hurricanes as small -125 favorites on the moneyline.
The second game features the Kraken at Stars in a series that is tied, 2-2. Dallas won Game 4 convincingly and is favored on the moneyline at -190. Both games have an over/under of 6.0 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Hurricanes Money Line -125
The Hurricanes enter tonight having outscored the Devils, 21-7, over the first four games of the series. Despite New Jersey being one of the best 5v5 teams during the regular season, they’ve had all kinds of trouble bringing that same intensity in this series. Part of the Devils' issues may stem from their goaltending, which has hardly been confidence-inspiring. New Jersey goalies have posted a save percentage well below .900 in every single game against Carolina to date. On the other side, Frederik Andersen has been stellar posting a .944 save percentage in every game but one so far for the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes are 5-0 lifetime in Game 5s when ahead by 3-1, while the Devils are 1-10 lifetime in Game 5s when down 3-1. It’s a tough spot for the Devils, especially as they’ll be playing in Carolina where the Hurricanes had the fourth-best home record in the league this season. The Hurricanes moneyline offers good value.
After their performance in Game 4, one thing I would expect from the Devils is a far more concentrated effort up front to get pucks to the net. That effort should start with a top-six forward like Timo Meier, who enters this game having played 25 shifts or more in each of his last two games and is averaging 3.6 shots on goal over the playoffs. He only managed one shot on net in Game 4 but has gone over this number in five of his past nine playoff starts, overall. The dip in Game 4 was disappointing, but the fact we are now getting +125 on 3.5 shots to take the over makes this a good spot to go long. We should see Meier and the other prominent Devils forwards be far more aggressive today making it a good night to be looking at their over props in the shots on goal category.
Stars in regulation -120
The Stars' status as the deeper team in this series was on full showcase in Game 4 as they won convincingly on the road and chased playoff stud Philipp Grubauer from the net. Dallas got goals from three different lines in that game and looks ready to take control of this series against a Kraken team that may have also lost a pivotal forward in Daniel Sprong for a spell.
The loss of even one forward at this point is concerning for Seattle, as they’re already without a couple of important names up front and managed just 44 shots on net over the last two games. They’re also going up against a Stars team that has scored four or more goals in five of their past six games. Seattle has been riding a hot goalie but it’s also not hard to envision Grubauer’s run to be at an end given his inconsistencies in the regular season. Backing Dallas to take care of business in 60 minutes has appeal as they are clearly the deeper team at this point and showed it for 60 minutes in Game 4.
If you’re looking for a way to back the Stars' offense then turning toward their power play has merit. Dallas is 3-for-9 in converting on the power play over the last three games and went 2-for-3 in that area in Game 4. They’re also up against a Seattle team that has the 13th-worst penalty kill this season and is likely due for more regression in this area.
Benn is currently playing on the top power-play unit for Dallas and has averaged over 3:00 minutes of power-play time for the Stars in each of their past three games. He landed a goal on the man advantage in Game 4 and saw 16 of his 60 points come on the power play this season. At +230 he’s got far bigger odds than the rest of the Stars forwards in this prop and is a player to target for those looking for a little bigger payout who are bullish on the Stars offense today.
All odds are provided by DraftKings Sportsbookand all odds are subject to change.
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