NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Western Conference Best Bets 5/4/22

The Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild will look to get on the board tonight in their respective series after failing to register a victory in Game 1.

Below, you can look at both Western Conference games on tonight’s NHL slate and our best bets on the FanDuel Sportsbook.

St Louis Blues (+106) vs Minnesota Wild (-130) Total: 6.5 (O-108, U-112)

Heading into this series, there was an expectation that this would be the closest first-round matchup, but the Blues may have put that notion to bed after a solid 4-0 Game 1 victory. David Perron was tremendous in the win, posting a hat trick and adding an assist, while Ville Husso picked up his first playoff victory as he recorded the shutout.

The Wild did outshoot the Blues 37-31 in Game 1 but weren’t able to come up with any goals, which they’ll need to do if they have hopes of evening up this series tonight.

The Blues have had Minnesota’s number of late, picking up three straight wins against them this regular season and outscoring the Wild 16-12 in those meetings. Nevertheless, it’s hard to imagine the Wild will play this poorly two games in a row, especially after the impressive second half of the season they put together. A second half in which the Blues were just as hot which is why we’re expecting a high-scoring affair like we saw during the regular season between these two clubs.

Best Bet: O 6.5 -108

Los Angeles Kings (+172) vs Edmonton Oilers (-210) Total: 6.5 (O-104, U-118)

The Kings were able to sneak out a 4-3 victory in Game 1 thanks to a Mike Smith blunder late in the third period, but for the most part, the Oilers’ play was encouraging in that contest. Jonathan Quick turned back the clock in Game 1, stopping 36 of 39 shots in the victory and this series could ultimately come down to which veteran goalie plays better.

It’s going to be hard to contain Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl for an entire series, but if a pair of centers were going to do that, you’d think it would be Phillip Danault and Anze Kopitar with the Kings. Even with that being said after the duo did a relatively good job in Game 1, both players still managed to score goals, so it’s important to temper your expectations.

It’s hard to see the Oilers not finding a way to send this back to Los Angeles all tied up, which means you should likely lean in their direction tonight on the moneyline at home.

Best Bet: Oilers -210