NHL UnderDog Fantasy Picks
The Florida Panthers head home for game three of the Stanley Cup finals to take on the Las Vegas Golden Knights who lead the series 2-0.
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice claimed his team has been “more physical than it needs to be” but insisted that toughness and discipline are two different things. His team has to win Game 3 tonight to extend the Stanley Cup Final to a series.
Florida’s top player, Matthew Tkachuk, who has accrued more penalty minutes (36) than time on ice (34:34) thus far, typifies the Panthers’ lack of restraint despite losing the first two games of the championship series to the Vegas Golden Knights by an overall score of 12-4.
“I think the Boston series was more physical than this series,” Maurice said, referring to the Panthers’ first-round win. “I think we’ve made this series more physical than it needs to be. We had 22 hits in the first period in Game 2. Prorate that out, and you don’t need 66 hits in a game. As a matter of fact, there’s an energy cost to that. We have hitters… but I don’t necessarily need Carter Verhaeghe to have five.
In my opinion, game 3 tonight will be similar to game 1 of the series. I think we’ll see a different approach from the Panthers, one that will keep the score closer and Florida Panthers out of the penalty box. The following are my Underdog Fantasy picks for Game 3
Mark Stone Over 2.5 Shots
After being somewhat quiet this post-season, Mark Stone has really stepped up in the last few games. He has a goal and an assist in two games versus the Panthers with a total of 10 shots. Stone has at least three shots in his last four games. I think he keeps the streak alive tonight.
William Karlsson Over 2 Shots
Karlsson has seen his ice time drop slightly in this series, however, both the Golden Knights’ wins were blowouts late, meaning more ice time could have been shared with the fourth line. Nevertheless, Karlsson is somewhat consistent with his shots per game average, registering at least 2 shots in 8 of his last 10 games.
Jonathan Marchessault Over 3 Shots
If you can find a prop bet for Marchessault to score a goal tonight, I’d take it. He has scored in 7 of his last 9 games. What’s amazing is his shooting percentage is so good that the coaches should be in his ear more about taking more shots. Marchessault has been one of the main reasons the Golden Knights have made it this far and I don’t think he cools off tonight. I like his shot total tonight
Adin Hill Over 30.5 Shots
The Panthers are in desperation mode and will hope to get lucky early in this matchup. I expect Hill to see a larger total of shots tonight, the Panthers should be shooting more with their backs against the wall down 2-0 in the series.
Matthew Tkachuk Over 3.5
Tkachuk needs to get going tonight and stop taking dumb penalties. Correlating with the Adin Hill over the prop, I like a lot of Panthers to hit the over on their shot totals. Tkachuk has had 4 shots in 4 of his last 7 games.
Brandon Montour Over 3 Shots
Montour loves to shoot and has had games this Stanley Cup round where he’s tally 8 even 9 shots in a game, but he’s been streaky. In a must-win game, I like the over tonight.
Sergei Bobrovsky Under 2.5 Goals Allowed
Bobrovsky has been excellent throughout the playoffs and is a major part of how they beat the Bruins. I think Panthers win tonight 4-2 tonight. Bobrovsky needs to have the game of his life or the Panthers are done.
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