2023 NHL playoff picks: Best bets for conference finals of Stanley Cup Playoffs

The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs are into the conference finals and we have our Final Four set. The Vegas Golden Knights will host the Dallas Stars in the West while the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Florida Panthers in the East. It's time to head over to DraftKings Sportsbook to look over some bets that stand out in both series.

2023 NHL playoffs: Conference Finals best bets

There's something about Florida that sticks out to me. It's a team that seems to be riding on a wave. The organization learn from its playoff failure of 2022 and made some tough changes that didn't look like they were going to work out until the Pittsburgh Penguins lost a late-season home game to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks. The Panthers were down 3-1 in their first-round series to the Boston Bruins and no one would've batted an eye had they lost to a 65-win Bruins team.

But these Panthers don't stop. They battle. They have taken on the mentality of Matthew Tkachuk and are playing with a mental toughness that's hard to overcome. Sergei Bobrovsky jumping into the time machine and playing like an elite goalie again hasn't hurt. Do I think the Panthers can steal a couple from the Hurricanes on the road? Yes. And they will.

Goals have been coming at an alarmingly high rate for the playoffs and I expect that to slow down a little as the NHL officials tend to swallow their whistles as the playoffs get deeper. But we can't ignore what's happened. Joe Pavelski had a four-goal game in Game 1 against Seattle Kraken and had eight goals in the series. Jonathan Marchessault had a natural hat trick for Vegas in Game 6 against the Edmonton Oilers. There will be a couple of strong individual offensive performances in this round.

Stars RW Jason Robertson still isn't putting the puck in the net, but he has five assists in the past four games, so he's getting close. And what about Roope Hintz. He already has a hat trick in these playoffs and three other games where he scored three points. Jack Eichel has been a strong two-way presence in his first playoff and if anyone can get hot with the stick, it's the former No. 2 pick and three-time All-Star. Eichel had two three-point games in the second round in Edmonton.

  
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