Exact NHL Series Outcomes: Conference Finals

Although it’s not an area in which I excel, picking the exact outcome in an NHL playoff series can be a hugely profitable and diarrhea-inducing venture. Here are my exact series outcome picks for the conference final round.

Preds in 7

Nashville is a really, really good team. They’ve got arguably the best blue-line corps in the league and they have a goaltender in Pekka Rinne who’s been by far the hardest to beat this postseason. If a massively talented offense chips in even a little, this Preds team is scary.

That said, I like the Ducks too and they’ll be a difficult team to best on home ice after taking down the Oilers there to clinch their spot in the Western Conference final and to break their streak of five straight losses in Game 7s. I think this one goes the distance as well but I like the Smashvillians to take it in seven games.

Pens in 6

Against all odds, the Penguins once again rallied past the Washington Capitals and will now get to play the Ottawa Senators for the right to compete for their second consecutive Stanley Cup. Most people are not giving the Sens a chance in this series but be careful here. Ottawa is an incredibly disciplined team and the two teams’ styles clash badly.

I like the Sens to upset the Penguins in at least a game or two in this best-of-seven but expect the top-heavy Pens to get to four wins first. The storylines going into this series are endless so whether you choose to get action on it or not – it definitely will not be for the faint of heart.

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Although it’s not an area in which I excel, picking the exact outcome in an NHL playoff series can be a hugely profitable and diarrhea-inducing venture. To put into perspective how bad I am at it, I went 6-for-8 in the first round in straight-up series picks but a gruesome 0-for-8 picking exact outcomes.

If you did a little better than me, though, there’s some attractive lines out there and despite my own futility, here are my favorites with odds from Sportsbook.

Caps in 5

I've already staked my reputation 10 times over on this Washington Capitals team so there's no reason to stop now. The Caps will try to pounce on the Pens early while Matt Murray is still out and I think they wrap this thing up early. I know they've had the weight of a gross history against the flightless birds keeping them from jumping their mental hurdle but I don't give the idea of historical trends making an impact on current events much credence.

The Penguins are banged up, have no defense and Marc-Andre Fleury is not a viable option as a franchise netminder anymore. Caps win this in five games after a galvanizing series against the Maple Leafs.

Sens in 7

Once again books are giving the Ottawa Senators no credit and once again I wholeheartedly disagree with their assessment of the odds that've been set for the Sens. Not only will they have the best player on the ice, they're coming off an impressive handling of a Boston Bruins team not many thought they would beat.

Ottawa was 3-0 on the road in the Sportsbook round and 4-1 as an underdog. I like them to continue that trend and possibly swap a home game or two with the Blueshirts. I'm backing the Sens in seven games.

The Others

Not as sure about these so I'll leave them to you to prognosticate as you please.