NHL Betting Picks for Friday 5/17/24: Will the Panthers Finish Off the Bruins?

Two teams won in their respective Game 5s, meaning we still have two games on tap for Friday night.

Whether it's moneylines or total goals, there are plenty of ways to bet on the NHL action all season. The playoffs can be tough to predict, but we should be able to find some markets that we like at the most exciting time of the year.

Let's dive into the best bets for tonight.

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All NHL betting odds and totals are from the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. All advanced statistics are used from MoneyPuck.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.

NHL Best Bets

Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins

Florida Moneyline (-146)

The Florida Panthers missed their opportunity to close out the Boston Bruins in Game 5 at home and now will have to go on the road to try to end the series.

Florida has been the better team in this series. They've created more expected goals (xG) in every game except Game 5, in which it was split 2.4 a piece.

Brad Marchand is a game-time decision tonight. If he's unable to play, that would be a huge blow to the Bruins' chances, as Marchand is tied for the team lead with 10 points.

The Panthers are making a few changes to their lineup. They will add Nick Cousins and Ryan Lomberg and remove Steven Lorentz and Kyle Okposo. I like this change, as Cousins is a pest to play against and also had more regular season goals and points than Lorentz. Lomberg brings energy that the 36-year-old Okposo can no longer provide.

Everything we've seen in this series points to Florida being the better team, so we can back them at -146 tonight.

Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche

Over 6.5 Goals (+106)

The Colorado Avalanche were able to win at home on Wednesday to push this series to a Game 6. Colorado erupted in the third period, scoring three times to break a tie heading into the period.

That 5-3 final in Game 5 made this the third time a game has gone over the 6.5 total. At least one team has scored four goals or more in every game in this series.

The Dallas Stars have created 9.78 xG in the last two games. When you get to shoot on a goaltender like Alexandar Georgiev -- who has allowed 3.2 goals above expected in the playoffs -- generating a lot of chances has the potential to go a long way.

The Avalanche lost Valeri Nichushkin from their lineup midway through the series but also got back Jonathan Drouin. They played for a large chunk of the season without Nichushkin, as well, and didn't miss a beat, so this shouldn't hinder them too much.

At home, Colorado averaged 4.20 goals per game. That was the most in the league. I see the potential for both teams to explode offensively, so instead of picking a winner, I like getting better than even money on the over.

The model on numberFire likes the over, too, giving it a 52.7% chance of exceeding the total.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.