HOCKEY NHL ARTICLES

Barely squeaking into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Florida Panthers enjoyed a marvelous run to the Stanley Cup Final knocking off three heavily-favored 50-win squads to get here. With their season on the brink after a pair of lopsided losses in Sin City, The Panthers hope to turn things around when they host the Vegas Golden Knights in Ga... 

Having several days off ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final is welcomed to heal aches and pains of a grueling season so far. It could also be a detriment since both the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights rolled into their second championship series appearance on a high note. Of course getting to the Stanley Cup Final is quite an achievement in itself, but the clubs were impressive in previous rounds. Not many expected the Panthers to be playing for their first NHL title, just squeaking into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. Since losing three of the first four games to the record-setting and heavily-favored Boston Bruins in the first round, the Panthers are an amazing 11-1 with nine of those victories by one goal. Vegas had perhaps the most dominant performance of the playoffs blanking Dallas 6-0 to clinch the Western Conference title in six games. ... 

Based on recent results we expected the Western Conference Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars to be close. And the teams haven’t disappointed. In the 11 matchups prior to this series, nine of them were decided by one goal. Dallas won four one-goal games when the clubs met in the 2020 conference final and two of three regular season meetings this year were one-goal affairs. So I guess it wasn’t a complete shock that the first two games were decided by a goal with both going t... 

It’s been a good spring for sports teams and fans in South Florida. The improbable playoff runs of the NBA’s Heat and the NHL’s Florida Panthers continue as the No. 8 seeds in their respective playoffs are that much closer to playing for a championship. The Panthers were playing playoff hockey even before the Stanley Cup Playoffs began and that desperation was prevalent i... 

The Vegas Golden Knights had a relatively easy time advancing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs beating the Winnipeg Jets in five games and dispatching Edmonton in six. The top seed in the West opens the Western Conference finals at home on Friday taking on the Dallas Stars, who survived a tough seven-game set with the second-year Seattle Kraken to set up a rematch of the 2020 ... 

Barely squeaking into the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Florida Panthers have advanced to the conference finals knocking off the record-setting Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs in previous rounds. Storming back from a 3-1 series deficit to Boston in the opening round, the Panthers have won seven of their last eight games with four of those victories coming in overtime. And six of those eight contests were decided by a single goal with the others being two-goal games. So I guess you can say Florida knows how to win the close games. There weren’t many of those in the previous round for the Carolina Hurricanes, who advanced with a five-game win over New Jersey outscoring the Devils 24-13. Eight of New Jersey’s goals came in Game 3, though. And just like the first two rounds Florida is an underdog in the series and in Game 1, which takes place in Raleigh on Thursday night. ... 

The New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes had the same number of wins and were separated by just one point in the regular season standings. Those numbers would suggest a few close games in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. That hasn’t been the case, though, with each of the first three games decided by four goals or more. No strangers to facing a 0-2 series deficit, the Devils head back to Raleigh for Game 5 on Thursday after dropping the first two games by a combined score of 11-2.... 

Turns out winning their first Stanley Cup Playoffs series in nearly two decades was the easy part for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The euphoria of that triumph over Tampa Bay did not carry over into the second round with the Leafs now trying to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the surprising Florida Panthers on Wednesday, May 10. Barely getting into the tournament as the No. ... 

There were a few surprises in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The biggest was the Florida Panthers upsetting Boston. Barely squeaking into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Panthers not only finished 43 points behind the Bruins in the regular season standings, they came back from a 3-1 series deficit handing the President’s Trophy winners... 

With the record-setting Boston Bruins eliminated in stunning fashion in the first round the Eastern Conference is wide open. The two teams that finished behind the Bs in regular season points will battle in one of the conference’s semifinals with the Carolina Hurricanes hosting the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, May 3 in the opener of that series. Out west the high-flying Edmonton Oilers, who led the NHL in scoring during the first round, will visit the Vegas Golden Knights. The teams are quite... 

There’s nothing better in all of sports than Playoff hockey, unless you’re a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. The Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and they haven’t won a series since 2004. In addition they were eliminated in the first round in each of the past six postseasons. That can change on Thursday when the Leafs host three-time defending Eastern Conference champion Tamp... 

Despite every Stanley Cup Playoff first round series still being contested the schedule for Wednesday, April 26 is light with only two games on the docket. ESPN will carry both games with the Presidents’ Trophy winning Boston Bruins looking to close out their series with Florida. The Bs got a wakeup call in Game 2 losing 6-3 by allowing four third period goals. They responded wi... 

There is no clear-cut favorite to win the Western Conference like there is in the East. Only 16 points separated top-seed Vegas from No. 8 seed Winnipeg and seven teams recorded at least 100 points during the regular season. The Colorado Avalanche had a late season surge to win the Central Division leaving the defending Stanley Cup champions tied atop the odds board with Edmonton at +265 to represent the West in the Stanley Cup final. The Oilers also closed with a flurry winning their final nine... 

After a record breaking campaign it’s Stanley Cup or bust for the Boston Bruins. Setting NHL records for wins and points in a season is great, but it means nothing if the ultimate prize isn’t acquired. The Bruins cruised through the regular season winning 65 games with only 12 regulation losses boasting the best defensive squad with the second-most goals scored. So I guess it isn’t surprising to see them as huge favorites to escape the rugged East. There is history to overcome for the Bruins to ... 

There is no mystery left in the NHL playoff race. The eight Western Conference teams are set after the Winnipeg Jets knocked off the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night, and the only thing left to be determined in the West is the exact seeding. Vegas will be the No. 1 seed in the West as long as it gets a result in its last game against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night, and the Golden K... 

I won three of my four NHL Parlay Picks last week, and my only loss was a winner if you took them on the puck line or a push if you took them in regulation. I rolled the dice with the Toronto Maple Leafs on the road against the record-breaking Boston Bruins, and Toronto played the best regular season team in hockey history to a draw. The Maple Leafs opened the scoring midway through the ... 

There are no NHL games on Friday, April 7, due to Good Friday, and that means every team in the league will be in action on Saturday, April 8. Hockey fans will have plenty to celebrate as there are 16 games over 12+ hours, and three of those games will be nationally televised. Both conferences have seen six teams clinch playoff spots, and the Eastern Conference has six teams still alive ... 

After losing both of my NHL Parlay Picks last Thursday, I had an easy NHL Parlay win on Saturday. I backed the New Jersey Devils on the moneyline and the Edmonton Oilers on the puck line, and both teams cruised to victories over outmatched foes. The New Jersey Devils went on the road and beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3, and they outshot their opponents 40 to 17. Meanwhile, Edmonton hamme... 

Five of the eight playoff spots in the Eastern Conference have been locked up. Boston, Toronto, Carolina, New Jersey, and the New York Rangers have assured themselves of a spot in the postseason. Tampa Bay will almost certainly return to the playoffs barring an absolute collapse, leaving just two postseason berths. The New York Islanders probably have one of those spots taken since they are five points ahead of the current No. 8 seed Pittsburgh Penguins with six games to play, but the Penguins h... 

Connor McDavid continued to make history on Monday night. McDavid became the first NHL player to score over 140 points in a season since the 1995-96 campaign when Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr both reached that point total for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Lemieux finished with 161 points and Jagr had 149 points, so while McDavid probably can’t catch Super Mario, he might be able to surpa... 

All but two teams will be in action on another jam-packed Saturday of NHL games. There will be at least one game on for at least 12 hours from the time the puck drops in the day’s opener between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins to the nightcap between the Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues. Every team except Carolina and Nashville has played at least 70 games, yet only one... 

We are coming off another win with our NHL Parlay Picks on Saturday. The Philadelphia Flyers were able to stay within the puck line against the Carolina Hurricanes and nearly beat the Metropolitan Division leaders in overtime. Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs blew a late lead against the Ottawa Senators that resulted in extra hockey after Brady Tkachuk notched a power play goal with... 

We are nearing the end of the NHL regular season. Teams are hitting the 70 games played mark, so most days will see a team either lock up a spot in the postseason or be eliminated from playoff contention going forward. That will have a big impact on a team’s motivation, and in turn, we will see some lofty NHL betting odds. The Chicago Blackhawks were already the biggest underdog in NH... 

Once again, I hit the first leg of my NHL Parlay Picks and missed the second leg this past Saturday. To be fair, I was very fortunate to hit my first leg though as the Tampa Bay Lightning struggled to get past the Chicago Blackhawks. Tampa Bay and Chicago were tied 1-1 with a minute left to play when Brayden Point found the back of the net. The Lightning added an empty net goal with t... 

All but two NHL teams will be in action this Saturday as we are nearing the end of the regular season. Every team except the Nashville Predators has 20 games or less left to play, and that has led to the playoff picture taking shape. The Western Conference looks pretty clearcut at the moment, but Nashville and Calgary are both hoping to sneak their way into the postseason. The Eastern...