Best NHL Bets Today: Two High-Scoring Games Set for Tonight?

The 2024 NHL postseason has been completely unpredictable. Take it off the second-round matchups were the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes, again that was expected to be a defensive battle. Instead, the Hurricanes and the Rangers combined for seven total goals. Tonight they will play game two where the score could be just as high. Also in tonight's matchup is the beginning of a potential high score and shootout between the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars. The Avalanche have shown why they are the top-ranked scoring offensively while the Stars have shown the potential for high scores, just not in the postseason so far. Tonight for over/under on goals scored. Look for the best lines to come from DraftKings.

Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers - Game Two

My Pick: Over 5.5 Goals Scored (+100) at DraftKings

The first matchup of the second round started last Sunday as the New York Rangers hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. These are two teams that have been at the front of the chase for the President’s Cup through most of the season. The Hurricanes are a win-now team based on the trades they made to become the team they are now. The Rangers, on the other hand, took their time to develop their players and are now a ruthless team on both sides of the ice.

Sunday’s game kicked off with a 4-3 win for the Rangers after scoring three goals in the first period. Center Mika Zibanejad accounted for two goals and one assist while center Vincent Trocheck accounted for a goal and an assist. The Hurricanes did push hard to score two goals in the third period.

The seven total goals scored was originally a shock based on the defenses that the Rangers and the Hurricanes possessed. The Hurricanes entered the postseason with the fourth-ranked scoring defense (2.57 goals allowed per game) while the Rangers ranked seventh in the league in the same category (2.76 goals allowed per game).

Both New York and Carolina possess some of the most reliable players on the offensive side of the ice. While they are not superstars like Toronto’s Auston Matthews and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, the Rangers and the Hurricanes are proving that more reliable players throughout the ice are the key to a more efficient offense.

The Rangers scored 13 goals in the four-game sweep against the Washington Capitols in round one. The Hurricanes scored 19 goals in the five games against the New York Islanders to average 3.8 goals per game.

This Tuesday night’s game two has a great chance of another game above five goals scored.

Place your NHL Bets at DraftKings

Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars - Game One

My Pick: Over 6.5 Goals Scored (-122) at DraftKings

The first game of the second-round matchup involving the Western Conference will begin as the Colorado Avalanche go on the road to take on the Dallas Stars. This is a series that can be either incredibly close and potentially take six or seven games to finish or it could be over quick. Fatigue could play a factor in this matchup starting tonight.

The Avalanche are coming off a significant amount of rest after they defeated the Winnipeg Jets in five games. In the series, the Avalanche’s offense was incredibly efficient and explosive as they were finding multiple ways to score. Colorado was able to average 5.8 goals per game in those five games while scoring at least five goals in each of these games.

The Stars ran into trouble early in the round one matchup against the defending Stanley Cup champions in the Vegas Golden Knights. The Stars lost their two games of the series, both at home, to the Golden Knights as their offense was lacking. They were able to win three consecutive games against Vegas with a chance to close out game six in Vegas. Instead, Dallas lost on the road with a 2-0 score before ultimately winning game seven with a 2-1 score.

The offense of the Stars hasn’t been efficient to start the postseason while the Avalanche have been explosive. The Avalanche have won seven of the last ten matchups versus the Stars with most of the wins being more than two goals.

If the Stars can’t find a way to keep up with the same intensity with the Avalanche, which they had problems with against Vegas, or their efficient defense slows down the offense, then it will be a quick series.

Place your bets on Over 6.5 Goals Scored at DraftKings