The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs concludes on Monday night with a Game 7 between the Rangers and Devils. Read on for our NHL best bets for Saturday based on the best NHL odds.
After two upsets on Sunday night, the first round of the playoffs finishes with another Game 7 on Monday night as the New Jersey Devils host the New York Rangers. New York went up 2-0 in the series before dropping three straight. New Jersey is looking to send the Rangers packing.
Here are our best NHL picks (odds via DraftKings and Caesars; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Monday's NHL schedule and odds
(Odds via DraftKings)
- New York Rangers (+100) vs. New Jersey Devils (-120)
Monday's NHL best bets
- Player prop: Jack Hughes Over 3.5 shots on goal (-157 via BetPARX) ????
- Player prop: Vladimir Tarasenko Over 2.5 shots on goal (+120 via BetPARX) ???
- Total: Devils vs. Rangers Under 1.5 goals in first period (-125 via Caesars) ????
- Spread: Rangers -1.5 (+255 via DraftKings) vs. Devils ??
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Monday's NHL player prop picks
Laying juice like this on a player prop isn't the easiest thing to do, but this is a special case.
Hughes had four or more shots on goal in 49 of 78 games (62.8%) and this line is as high as -196 on FanDuel for Hughes to have four or more shots on goal in regulation. BetPARX is offering nearly 40 cents cheaper than that and you get the potential for overtime.
Furthermore, Hughes has recorded 30 shots in the first six games of this series, including nine shots on goal in Game 6. The Devils' star forward will be firing at will again in a win-or-go-home Game 7.
Hughes recorded at least seven shots on goal in three of the four meetings against the Rangers in the regular season. Hughes to record seven-plus shots on goal in regulation is +430 on FanDuel and worth a look as well (six-plus at +230, too).
On the opposite side, we are getting plus odds on Tarasenko to go Over his shot total.
Tarasenko was brought in by the Rangers before the trade deadline to add some scoring depth with his shot. He has three shots on goal in each of the last four games after recording three-plus SOG in 31 of 69 regular-season games (44.9%).
Still, shots should be going toward the net in a Ga me 7. Tarasenko had four shot attempts in each of the last two games after putting up six and five in Games 3 and 4, respectively.
There is a bit of value here at BetPARX compared to the best sportsbooks, as Tarasenko is +110 at DraftKings.
Check out our Stanley Cup odds and Conn Smythe Trophy odds.
Monday's NHL game picks
There have only been seven first-period goals scored in this series and two came in Game 6 with Chris Kreider scoring on the power play in the final minute of the opening frame.
This has been a low-scoring series the whole way with things opening up a bit in Game 6. However, things should tighten up in a Game 7, especially early on.
The Rangers and Devils both trended to the first-period Under in the regular season, too, with New York going Over just 37 times and N ew Jersey at 34 in the full 82-game season.
Finally, and most importantly, Caesars is offering a great price at -125. The line is also -127 at BetRivers, but it's as high as -145 on BetMGM.
For a series that should've had mostly close games, five of the six contests have been decided by at least two goals. The Rangers won Games 1 and 2 by a final score of 5-1, and took it to the Devils for a 5-2 win in Game 6.
New York was pushed to the brink twice last season with Game 7 victories before ultimately falling in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Rangers are barely underdogs in this game and we're getting +255 for them to win by two – which they've done in all three victories. It's a bit of a cheeky value play to close out the first round with BetMGM and BetPARX at +240 and +245.
NHL picks made 5/1/2 023 at 11:27 a.m. ET.
Here are our best NHL betting sites:
- FanDuel: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our FanDuel Review
- Caesars: Earn Up to a $1,250 Bet Credit | Read our Caesars Review
- DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
- PointsBet: Earn Five Second-Chance Bets Up to $50 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
- BetMGM: Get a Bonus Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review
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