NHL playoff picks: Best bets for Sunday

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Some things just weren't meant to be on Saturday. The Blue Jackets fell short, and the Knights allowed a meaningless late goal, failing to cover the -1.5 spread. An 0-2 night ends our two-day perfection streak.

We're now 6-4-1 overall in Round 1, but I love these two Sunday bets. Let's get back to our 2-0 days, yeah?

Dallas Stars (-120) @ Calgary Flames (+100)

The Stars face a pivotal Game 4 and only have themselves to blame, trailing 2-1 in the series. They had countless chances to open the scoring in Game 3 - and even pull ahead for that matter - but couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Tyler Seguin hit the crossbar twice, Alexander Radulov missed a wide-open goal, and John Klingberg couldn't hit the net on a huge chance in the second.

Cam Talbot was excellent when the Flames needed him, but the series' first two games proved that his performance is too inconsistent. He can be erratic and easily-shaken as a goalie, but once he gets settled, he'll be tough to beat.

The bottom line is there's been plenty to like about Dallas' play in this series, especially in Game 3's losing effort. The Stars had 37 scoring chances to Calgary's 13 on Friday, and they controlled 66.91% of the expected goals share at five-on-five (2.11 to 1.04).

It's been a common theme throughout this series, and over the course of seven games, these things have a way of correcting themselves. The Stars may be trailing right now, but don't expect that to last very long.

Pick: Stars (-120)

Philadelphia Flyers (-145) @ Montreal Canadiens (+125)

I was in on the Canadiens and the over in Game 2, and while we hit with the underdog pick, we had to settle for a push on the over in a 5-0 Montreal win. There wasn't a single offensive contribution from the Flyers, but that's not something that will happen very often, and it's the reason I'm going back to the well here.

Expect a spirited response from the Flyers on Sunday with or without leading scorer Travis Konecny, who was helped into the dressing room after blocking a shot in Game 2. Philadelphia was out-worked and out-played but still generated an expected goals for mark of 3.23 on Friday, and will hopefully do its part to contribute to the over in Game 3.

Defensively, the Flyers are showing an inability to cope with Montreal's speed and aggressiveness on the forecheck, so they'll have to start generating some offense. The Canadiens have what seems to be a bottomless pit of energy on the attack, posting 5.19 expected goals for at even - and 6.14 at all strengths - in this series.

The emergence of youngsters Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki gives the Habs excellent depth at forward, while Jonathan Drouin and Max Domi appeared to get on track offensively in Game 2. Montreal will continue to find the back of the net here, and with Philadelphia doing its part as well, this game will comfortably surpass five goals.

Pick: Over 5 (-130)

(Odds source: theScore Bet)

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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Lindblom skates with Flyers after completing quarantine

If the Philadelphia Flyers need a pick-me-up following their 5-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday, this should do it.

Oskar Lindblom took the ice Sunday for the first time since finishing the required quarantine period after arriving in Toronto for the NHL's return to play.

The team showed its support for Lindblom with a prolonged stick-tap tribute as he led the stretch after their morning skate.

Lindblom hasn't played since being diagnosed with cancer in December, but the Flyers included him on their postseason roster in late July.

The forward - who celebrated his 24th birthday Saturday - rang the bell on July 2 to signify to end of his treatments.

In late June, Lindblom practiced with the team for the first time since his diagnosis.

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Lightning hold Blue Jackets to 7 shots in final 45 mins of Game 3

The Tampa Bay Lightning put on an absolute clinic Saturday.

Despite defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets by a modest score of 3-2, the Bolts put on a dominating performance in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

The Lightning held the Jackets to a staggering seven shots in the final 45 minutes of the game, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

Tampa Bay ran into penalty trouble early in the game, as Pat Maroon, Zach Bogosian, and Blake Coleman were each docked two-minute minors in the opening 10 minutes. Columbus generated some chances, but couldn't capitalize on the power plays. Once the game returned to five-on-five, the Lightning took over.

The Bolts finished the game by controlling 74.2% of the shot attempts at five-on-five and had 13 high-danger scoring chances compared to Columbus' two, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella chalked it up to overall fatigue for his group, having played eight games in 14 nights. Three of those contests went to overtime, including the quintuple OT marathon in Game 1 of the Lighting series.

"That’s the kind of thing that determines it for me, is it wasn’t just one person," Tortorella said postgame, according to Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. "It was a whole group of men that struggled tonight.”

Game 4 is set for Monday at 3 p.m. ET.

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Golden Knights turn to Fleury for Game 3, Stastny unfit to play

Vegas Golden Knights netminder Marc-Andre Fleury is in the crease for Saturday's Game 3 against the Chicago Blackhawks, the team announced.

Robin Lehner won the opening two games of the series while posting a .911 save percentage, but the Golden Knights have a quick turnaround with Game 4 scheduled less than 24 hours after Game 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.

The Golden Knights will be without Paul Stastny for Game 3 after he was deemed unfit to play. However, Max Pacioretty will make his return to the lineup following his absence from Game 2.

Without Stastny, William Karlsson will slide down to the second line and rejoin Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith. Meanwhile, Chandler Stephenson is centering the top line with Pacioretty and Mark Stone.

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Canes respond to Bruins broadcaster’s crass tweet about Svechnikov injury

The Carolina Hurricanes' Twitter account has no time for Jack Edwards' homerism.

The Boston Bruins broadcaster tweeted that Andrei Svechnikov was at fault for the injury the forward suffered during Game 3.

Incidentally, Svechnikov sustained the ailment after getting tangled up with Zdeno Chara.

The Hurricanes did not appreciate Edwards' insensitivity to a potentially serious injury.

Edwards' tweet is factually incorrect, too. The play he claims Svechnikov "poked the bear" actually involved Sebastian Aho.

This isn't the first time Edwards has made light of a potentially serious injury. Dallas Stars defenseman Roman Polak was stretchered off the ice after going headfirst into the boards during an October contest against the Bruins. Edwards said the injury was a result of "bad hockey karma." Polak's agent, Allan Walsh, responded by calling Edwards a "piece of shit and an absolute disgrace." Polak had to be taken to the hospital and was diagnosed with a small fracture in his sternum.

Edwards is widely considered the worst play-by-play commentator in hockey. The NESN announcer and Andy Brickley ranked last in The Athletic's April survey on the best local NHL broadcasts.

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Svechnikov helped off ice late in Game 3 after awkward fall

Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov left Game 3 versus the Boston Bruins on Saturday late in the third period with an apparent leg injury.

Svechnikov became tangled with Zdeno Chara, and teammates and medical staff needed to help him off the ice.

Svechnikov is a significant piece of Carolina's offense, and he had logged seven points in five postseason games while averaging over 17 minutes per contest entering Saturday's clash.

The second-year sniper notched 24 goals and 37 assists in 68 regular-season games before the pause.

Boston held on to win the game and take a 2-1 series lead.

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Rask opts out of NHL’s return to play

Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask will no longer take part in the ongoing Stanley Cup Playoffs, the club announced Saturday.

"I want to be with my teammates competing, but at this moment there are things more important than hockey in my life, and that is being with my family," the star netminder said in a statement.

"I want to thank the Bruins and my teammates for their support and wish them success," he added.

Shortly thereafter, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney implied he wasn't blindsided.

"I don't think it's any big surprise to us," the GM told reporters on Saturday, including NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin. "... This has been a difficult decision for Tuukka. The Boston Bruins are in full support of why he made this decision."

"The priority has to be his family and we support that," Sweeney added, before confirming Rask's family is healthy and the goalie's decision isn't related to anything specific.

Following Boston's 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of their first-round series Thursday night, Rask said "it doesn't really feel like playoff hockey out there," adding that "it feels like playing an exhibition game" and it's "dull at times" without fans in attendance.

The Hurricanes offered well wishes before Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.

Rask is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this season after winning the award in 2014. The veteran puck-stopper helped the Bruins win the Presidents' Trophy in 2019-20, posting a .929 save percentage - which led the NHL among goalies who played more than 30 games - and five shutouts in 41 contests, all of which were starts.

His wife recently gave birth to the couple's third child.

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Rask opts out of NHL’s return to play

Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask will no longer take part in the ongoing Stanley Cup Playoffs, the club announced Saturday.

"I want to be with my teammates competing, but at this moment there are things more important than hockey in my life, and that is being with my family," the star netminder said in a statement.

"I want to thank the Bruins and my teammates for their support and wish them success," he added.

Shortly thereafter, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney implied he wasn't blindsided.

"I don't think it's any big surprise to us," the GM told reporters on Saturday, including NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin. "... This has been a difficult decision for Tuukka. The Boston Bruins are in full support of why he made this decision."

"The priority has to be his family and we support that," Sweeney added, before confirming Rask's family is healthy and the goalie's decision isn't related to anything specific.

Following Boston's 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of their first-round series Thursday night, Rask said "it doesn't really feel like playoff hockey out there," adding that "it feels like playing an exhibition game" and it's "dull at times" without fans in attendance.

The Hurricanes offered well wishes before Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.

Rask is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this season after winning the award in 2014. The veteran puck-stopper helped the Bruins win the Presidents' Trophy in 2019-20, posting a .929 save percentage - which led the NHL among goalies who played more than 30 games - and five shutouts in 41 contests, all of which were starts.

His wife recently gave birth to the couple's third child.

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