Weekend NHL Playoff Picks for Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8

Are you ready for another big weekend of NHL picks? We are on a really nice run, as we went 4-2 last Friday to make it 20-7 over the last month. Now it is time to get into NHL Playoff picks beginning with games on Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8. We have a total of eight games this weekend with four on Saturday and four on Sunday. ESPN has the early game on Saturday and then TNT has the other three games, while on Sunday it is ESPN with the early game, while TBS has the other three games. Let’s look at the NHL Playoff schedule and weekend NHL Playoff picks.

Saturday, May 7

Florida Panthers at Washington Capitals Game 3 – ESPN

Colorado Avalanche at Nashville Predators Game 3 – TNT

New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins Game 3 – TNT

Calgary Flames at Dallas Stars Game 3 – TNT

Sunday, May 8

Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins Game 4 – ESPN

Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues Game 4 – TBS

Toronto Maple Leafs at Tampa Bay Lightning Game 4 – TBS

Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings Game 4 – TBS

Weekend NHL Playoff Picks

Colorado Avalanche at Nashville Predators Game 3

The one series that I didn’t think had any chance of being competitive was the one between the Avalanche and Predators. I thought Nashville would do well to win one game and that was before the injury to goaltender Juuse Saros. The Predators have a great arena in Nashville and the fans are going to be superb on Saturday, but I just don’t see how they win this one against a superior Colorado team. The Predators said that Saros would miss at least the first two games of this series and I don’t know that he comes back for this contest. The Predators are not playing good enough defense to stop Colorado and they are not likely to win a high scoring game against the Avalanche, so it is hard to see them winning this game. I’ll take the Avalanche to get the road win on Saturday.

New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins Game 3

The question for the Penguins in this game is who will be in goal. The Penguins started this series without Tristan Jarry and then Casey DeSmith got hurt in Game 1. It was Louis Domingue coming into the game in relief and the Penguins got a huge win in triple overtime. It is one thing for the Penguins to get a win with Dominque in relief but quite another to have to rely on him for a whole game or a less than 100% DeSmith. The Rangers have the edge in goal with Igor Shesterkin and I expect New York to win at least one of the next two games in Pittsburgh. I’ll take the Rangers on Saturday in Game 3.

Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins Game 4

The Carolina Hurricanes have goaltending issues of their own, as their top goaltender Frederik Andersen is hurt and backup Antti Raanta got hurt in Game 2. The Hurricanes look to have a capable third string goalie in Pyotr Kochetkov, but it is tough to win on the road with everyone healthy and the Hurricanes have definite questions in goal. I think Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy made a mistake when he started Linas Ullmark in Game 1 and then didn’t switch to Jeremy Swayman in Game 2. We’ll see what he decides to do for Game 4. I think the Bruins can still make some noise in this series so I will take them to win Game 4.

Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings Game 4

The late game on Sunday has the Oilers visiting the Kings in Game 4. The Kings shocked the Oilers in Game 1 of this series, winning a close contest thanks in large part to a bad play by goalie Mike Smith. The Oilers dominated the Kings in Game 2 to even the series. The Kings have to play nearly perfect to beat the Oilers because Edmonton is simply the better team. The Kings don’t have a huge home ice advantage against anyone and the Oilers may actually play a little better without the pressure of playing at home. I’ll take the Oilers to get the road win on Sunday night.

Check out the latest NHL playoff odds at SugarHouse Sportsbook.