Matt Severance
N.Y. RANGERS @ CAROLINA | 05/18 | 7:00 PM EDT
CAROLINA -160
ANALYSIS: Until the Hurricanes give me a reason not to, I'm going to ride them in Raleigh as they won all four in Round 1 there against the Bruins yet lost all three in Boston by multiple goals. Having an extra day of rest won't hurt the Canes, either. Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin didn't look like himself in much of Round 1 and was 0-2 with a 3.63 GAA this season against Carolina.
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Jeff Hochman
N.Y. RANGERS @ CAROLINA | 05/18 | 7:00 PM EDT
CAROLINA -160
ANALYSIS: The Rangers are coming off a physical seven-game series win against Pittsburgh in which they were outshot by 40 and outscored by one goal. New York is dead last in faceoff winning percentage (43.1) in the playoffs after ranking 24th during the regular season. Meanwhile, Carolina is sixth in the category (51.1) this postseason after ranking ninth in 2021-22. The Hurricanes outshot the Rangers 140-105 while winning three of their four meetings this season. I like Carolina in Game 1 (and the series).
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Matt Severance
EDMONTON @ CALGARY | 05/18 | 9:30 PM EDT
CALGARY -160
ANALYSIS: Wednesday is the most important "Battle of Alberta" game in 31 years -- I'd love to be in Calgary for this one. These teams are very much alike, but I have to lean the Flames because they are home and Jacob Markstrom is simply more trustworthy in net than 40-year-old Mike Smith of the Oilers. The home team won all four in the regular season and it wouldn't shock me if that happened in this series. I'd consider the Edmonton puckline here if it got lower than the Calgary ML, but the PL is sitting around -175 so we'll just back Calgary to win. And obviously one major +1.5 PL risk is losing on an empty-net goal in the final minute.
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XS Sports Picks ⚾️
This Week 3-3 +$1,800
MLB YTD 61-40 +$76,560 (60% MLB Winners)
MLB:
2* Atlanta Over 6.5 -103
2* San Francisco Over 11 -110
3* Chicago WS -1.5 +103
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Big Al
Brewers
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