The NHL Playoffs have started, and we have been treated to some exhilarating hockey. We have seen a few one-goal games, including a three-overtime thriller between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. If that is any indication of what might be in store the rest of the way, it should be a ton of fun.

Let’s take a look at our NHL Best Bet for May 4th.

NHL Best Bet

Boston Bruins @ Carolina Hurricanes

The Bruins and Hurricanes are both two terrific defensive teams. They play very well in the defensive zone by limiting high-end chances and keeping the puck outside the dots. Both teams do not turn the puck over and use their speed to create offense off the rush. We saw this in game one between these two teams as it was 1-0 with two minutes left in the second period.

The Canes lead the NHL in GA/GP at 2.44 while the Bruins gave up the 4th least amount of GA/GP at 2.66. Carolina also had the league’s best penalty kill rate at 88%. The Bruins ranked ninth in penalty kill rate at 81.3%.

Linus Ullmark and Antti Raanta, the presumptive goalie match-up tonight, played very well during the regular season. Ullmark posted 26 wins, 2.45 GAA, and a .917 SV% in 41 regular-season games for the Bruins. Raanta also had a solid regular season. The 32-year-old had 28 starts, including 15 wins, a 2.45 GAA, and a .912 SV%.

I expect this game to be low-scoring and tight defensively. Both teams will want to play their game and win the crucial game two of this series.

The Play: Under 5.5 (-105)

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