NHL Playoff Betting – Saturday, May 13 Picks

The first trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Seattle Kraken has been eventful to say the least. The bar for expansion teams was raised significantly by the Vegas Golden Knights, who reached the Stanley Cup Final in their maiden season of 2017-18. Though Seattle failed to reach the playoffs last season, the Kraken are more than making up for it in Year 2. They eliminated defending champion Colorado in the first round winning three times in Denver, including the decisive Game 7. Unfortunately they haven’t been as good on home ice dropping three of five contests overall. They look to end that trend hosting the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup. Betting the OVER as a NHL pick has been profitable with the teams going above the number in each of the first four series games. Check out the latest NHL betting lines at BetRivers sportsbook.

Daily NHL Picks

Dallas at Seattle, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Dallas Stars at Seattle Kraken

Seattle is a good team as evidenced by their 100-point regular season and first round victory over reigning Stanley Cup champ Colorado. The Kraken have also been lucky in this series defying the advanced metrics to split the first four games. With a limited number of high danger chances the Kraken tallied 17 goals, an average of 4.25. They’ve taken advantage of suspect goaltending from Jake Oettinger to boast a shooting percentage of nearly 15. For the entire playoffs Seattle’s at 10.8 percent just slightly below the 11.6 percent they had during the regular year.

It’s tough to figure out what kind of game we’re going to get on Saturday night. The first two games in Dallas were tight with Seattle winning the opener, 5-4, in overtime and Dallas rebounding for 4-2 victory two nights later. When the series moved to Seattle there were a couple of blowouts. The Kraken tallied seven goals on 25 shots cruising to a 7-2 win in Game 3. Dallas responded again scoring the first four goals in Game 4 leading to a 6-3 win.

The clubs were strong offensively during the season ranking among the top 7 in goals per game and that’s continued in this series. Including the three-game regular season series, in which the Stars won twice, the OVER has been a favorable NHL odds pick with the clubs playing above the total in each of the first seven games.

Dallas got a boost from Miro Heiskanen returning to the ice in Game 4. The team’s top defenseman exited the game before after taking a puck to the face and nearly getting his cheek torn off. He’s a hockey player and he made an impact in the Stars’ win with a pair of assists while playing more than 31 minutes. Heiskanen leads all players in average ice time this postseason.

What makes the Stars so scary as the series progresses is that they scored 16 goals in the first four games with regular season leading scorer Jason Robertson contributing just one assist. He had 46 goals and 109 points during the season but has struggled in the playoffs with two goals and eight points through 10 games. Jamie Benn tallied just once in the first four games. The duo combined for 79 goals and 187 points during the season and they could send Seattle packing if they start finding the back of the net.

While his impact wasn’t felt in Game 4, getting Jared McCann back could be the boost the Kraken need in the series. The team’s leading scorer with 40 goals and 70 points during the regular season was sidelined since Game 4 of the Colorado series after absorbing a late hit from Cale Makar. McCann failed to record a point in 13:11 of ice time. “First couple of shifts it was a little tough, but towards the end I felt really good,” he said.

Oettinger has yet to play his best for the Stars sporting a 3.87 GAA and .860 save percentage through four games. This after a 2.01 GAA and .929 SP in the first round win over Minnesota. He also had a .919 SP and five shutouts during the regular season helping Dallas to a top 3 defense.

NHL Playoff Pick: Dallas / OVER

Check out the latest NHL betting odds at BetRivers.