NHL Picks Today: Best Bets for Golden Knights vs. Ducks and Canadiens vs. Sabres

The Stanley Cup playoffs are on the verge of seeing history made. The Carolina Hurricanes have opened the playoffs with seven victories, and the Colorado Avalanche have the opportunity to duplicate that feat when they visit the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

It would be the first time two teams have kicked off the playoffs with seven victories in the same year. Only four teams have opened the playoffs with eight wins, with the last the Edmonton Oilers (who actually won nine straight to kick off the playoffs.)

But before we get to the affairs featuring those teams, here are our three best bets for Friday’s action. Odds are via FanDuel.

• Golden Knights/Ducks Over 6.5 goals (+114)
• Montreal’s Cole Caufield to score (+175)
• Vegas’s Jack Eichel to register 3+ shots on goal (-128)

Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights over 6.5 goals (+114)

Both games to kick off this series finished 3-1. The Ducks put on a defensive clinic in their Game 2 victory that evened the series as it heads to Anaheim.

What makes that unique? Anaheim was among the worst defensive teams in the NHL during the regular season, finishing 29th among the 32 clubs in goal-against-per-game.

We are not buying the Ducks are about to become defensive stalwarts and expect to see more what these teams have done in the regular season and first round of the playoffs.

Anaheim surrendered four goals in four of six games against the Edmonton Oilers and racked up 26 goals in those six outings.

Meanwhile, the Golden Knights averaged four goals per game while facing the Utah Mammoth in their six-game victory.

This is a game for both teams to return to the median.

Montreal’s Cole Caufield to score a goal (+175)

After a series-opening 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, the focus has become more intense on Montreal Canadiens star Cole Caufield and his lack of production so far in the playoffs.

Good.

Caufield this season became only the seventh player in Canadiens history to reach the 50-goal mark, and first since Stephane Richer in 1989-90, when he hit 51 tallies.

The playoffs have been another animal so far. Caufield has netted only one marker in eight games but that’s only part of his swoon. He has not even netted a point in the last four outings.

After winning an emotional Game 7 over the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Canadiens were not quite right to kick off the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Expect a different Montreal team in this affair, and a fired-up Caufield.

Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel to register 3+ shots on goal (-128)

With a couple of sleeps to digest the first two games of their series, the Golden Knights will be focused on creating more offensively.

One aspect will be to sustain more sustained pressure in the Anaheim zone, especially after the Golden Knights were held to 22 shots on goal in each of the first two clashes of the series.

Speaking of players under the microscope, Eichel averaged 3.51 shots on goal during the regular season but has managed only 21 in eight games so far in this year’s playoffs, and only three over the first two game of this series.

Time for him to lead the charge.