Welcome to my Quick Picks column, where I hand out winners, winners, and more winners every day. I fire off picks on everything from college hoops to the NHL.
The Bolts finally got the better of Florida with the man advantage in Game 4, striking twice for power play goals en route to a 6-3 victory that kept the series alive. But for the series, Tampa Bay is 4-for-17 with the man advantage and was just 2-for-12 prior to Game 4.
With the Capitals not scoring, the defense a shadow of itself, Alexander Ovechkin a shadow of a shadow and the Rangers controlling the flow of play, it looks pretty bleak. The Rangers are going off at almost -200, and that feels reasonable.
The Canucks were lucky to win Game 3, and they know it. With Nashville’s crowd out in full force on a Sunday afternoon, the Canucks aren’t going to be able to play the same way they did last time and get a result.
Winnipeg has two potential paths to victory. The first is throwing Colorado off its game and grinding them down, which has been zero-for-three to this point. The second is throwing caution to the wind and outscoring them. That worked in Game 1 because the Avalanche defense had a bad day, but there’s no sign of it working past this game.
Vegas has played outstanding hockey at home and now sees a real opportunity to put a chokehold on this series. Dallas has to find a way to dictate the flow of the game and force Vegas to play its style.
The Hurricanes have been a step or two ahead at every turn, and the one time where the Isles had an edge, they couldn’t step on the throat. It feels like New York had one chance in this series, and it has come and gone.
Colorado is at its best when it can dictate the flow of the game and knows that there will be a lot of shots at both ends. Winnipeg wants a slower, more methodical game that relies on its goaltenders. But if Hellebuyck can’t get above a .900 save percentage, the Jets are in peril.
Mayes brings in a good chunk of experience at the UFC level and an all-around game that most heavyweights are unable to showcase. However, that usually is not enough for him to get over the hump as he now is 3-4 with the promotion and has become one of the most inconsistent performers at this level. Sometimes he has big power, sometimes he can’t knockout a fly. Sometimes he has smothering top pressure with his wrestling, sometimes he can’t sniff a takedown.