Despite every Stanley Cup Playoff first round series still being contested the schedule for Wednesday, April 26 is light with only two games on the docket. ESPN will carry both games with the Presidents’ Trophy winning Boston Bruins looking to close out their series with Florida. The Bs got a wakeup call in Game 2 losing 6-3 by allowing four third period goals. They responded with a pair of dominant road wins and are a huge favorite to close out the Panthers at home. If the defending champion Colorado Avalanche thought their first round series with playoff debutant Seattle was going to be easy they best think again. Colorado regained home ice advantage with a 6-4 win in Seattle on Saturday night. That was the sixth time the teams played this season with each winning three games and scoring exactly 16 goals. So I think it’s safe to say we can expect another close one on Wednesday.
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NHL Playoffs Schedule for Wednesday, April 26
Florida at Boston, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Seattle at Colorado, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
NHL Playoffs Picks for Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Florida has given the record-setting Bruins all they can handle in the first round but the bottom line is that Boston is too good and too deep. The Bs will lose a game every so often but beating them in a seven-game series is going to take a herculean effort.
For the second straight game the Bruins sat stalwarts Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci due to injury allowing others on the deep roster to rise to the occasion. Former league MVP Taylor Hall had three goals and three assists in the two games in Florida giving Boston another scoring threat to go alongside David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand.
If there was a question about the Bruins it would be in net with Linus Ullmark having only two games of playoff experience ahead of this series. He looked shaky in Game 2 allowing five goals on 29 shots but bounced back in a big way in Florida stopping 70 of 74 shots and earning a misconduct penalty following a skirmish with a Florida player.
The Panthers have their backs against the wall and will play a more wide-open style with hopes of cashing in a few opportunities. That’s hard to do against the best defensive team and will lead to a number of chances at the other end. And the Bruins rarely miss. At +108 on the puck line backing the Bruins likes like a smart play as does the OVER with Florida emptying the net if trailing in the third period.
The Kraken certainly have Colorado’s attention if they didn’t already. The teams played a number of close games during the season and the start of this series has been similar. Seattle’s wide open style allowed them to average the fourth-most goals during the regular season. They also played well enough defensively to earn 46 wins and 100 points.
Seattle was a good road team during the year going 26-11-4 and they showed off in Game 1 knocking off the Stanley Cup champs 3-1. All three of Seattle’s wins over the Avalanche this season took place in the Mile High City so you know the Kraken aren’t afraid to go on the road and win.
Each of the first five games between the clubs this season played below the total with the winner scoring no more than three goals. We see a change in Game 3 with Colorado’s big guns coming to play. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each scored two goals and Cale Makar had a goal and an assist. I do like the way Seattle plays and they know how to win on the road making them my upset pick on Wednesday night.
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