Premiere Sports Betting, Sportsbook Sign Up Bonus

Top Games of the Day: The opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is winding down, with just 3 series left to be decided.

Florida awaits the result between Boston vs Toronto to know its rival, while Colorado and Edmonton similarly await the results between Vancouver vs Nashville and Dallas vs Vegas.

My Analysis

This is usually where we talk about the games set to go tonight, but since there is only one game on the schedule, I thought we would look at the next couple of days and the 3 series that are still ongoing. All 3 could well be over and done with by the time Friday night comes to a close, but we could potentially be looking at a trio of Game 7 matchups in our future. The pressure is very much on the teams that are in a hole right now, but how many will survive and how many will buckle under that pressure? Let’s see if we can figure it out.

Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs

Thursday, May 2, 8:00 PM ET | Round 1, Gm 6 | BOS leads 3-2 | As soon as I saw this matchup in the opening round, I had a feeling that this was going to be a long series. That has proven to be the case, but it is the Bruins who have the upper hand with a 3-2 lead. The series shift back to Toronto for Game 6, with a ton of pressure sitting on the shoulders of the home team. The Leafs have struggled in the playoffs in recent years and another opening round exit would not sit well with their fans. In my Round 1 preview, I had the Bruins winning the series in 7 games, so I am going to stick with that and take the Leafs to win this one, although I do believe we will be looking at another tight battle.

NHL Expert Pick Boston Bruins 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 3

Vancouver Canucks at Nashville Predators

Friday, May 3, 7:00 PM ET | Round 1, Gm 6 | VAN leads 3-2 | The Canucks came into the playoffs as the #1 seed in the Western Conference, but what we are seeing here is just how close all of these teams really are at this point. The Canucks are up 3-2 in the series after blowing the opportunity to close things out at home in Game 5. This series has been as tight as it gets, with each of the last 3 games all decided by a single goal. I expect we will get more of the same here, and while the Predators do have the home ice advantage in this game, I believe it will be Vancouver that does just enough to close this out and move on.

NHL Expert Pick Vancouver Canucks 3, Nashville Predators 1

Dallas Stars at Vegas Golden Knights

Friday, May 3, 10:00 PM ET | Round 1, Gm 6 | DAL leads 3-2 | This is another series that I predicted would go the distance. It has been a strange one, for sure, with the Dallas Stars becoming the first of these teams to win a game on home ice in this series when they picked up the Game 5 win. The Golden Knights now need to find a way to repeat that on Friday night if they are to take the series to a deciding Game 7. From the start, I had Vegas winning the series in 7 games, so while they are definitely in a spot of bother, I have to stick with that prediction and take them to get the job done in Sin City on Friday night.

NHL Expert Pick Dallas Stars 2, Vegas Golden Knights 4