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It’s the second day of the best time of the year, the first round of the NHL playoffs. While there are contenders and favourites all over the place, one thing to remember is that the playoffs are wildly unpredictable in hockey. Who would have guessed that the Montreal Canadiens would make the Stanley Cup Final last season? Who will be the Cinderella team of 2022? We’ve got four games on the docket tonight, so let’s not beat around the bush, let’s get right into it.

Pittsburgh Penguins to defeat New York Rangers +110

While it’s obvious that losing their starting goaltender is a huge blow to their playoff hopes, many are throwing in the towel on the Penguins because of it, and I don’t think the situation is as dire as described.

Casey DeSmith doesn’t have the overall numbers of Tristan Jarry, but even though the Penguins limped into the playoffs, DeSmith’s final five starts of the year saw him go 3-2-0 with a .940 save percentage. That’s about as great as you could expect from your backup, and a little bit better than Shesterkin’s .932 over his own final five starts.

Considering the unrestricted free agency situation for both Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, this might be the last real chance for this Penguins’ core group. After a few embarrassing playoff performances the last couple years, they should be a highly motivated group.

Over 5.5 total goals in Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers -105 

With Jarry out the first couple of games, the Penguins are going to be under some pressure to score some extra goals to give DeSmith some room to work. Igor Shesterkin was easily the best goaltender in the NHL this season, but this is just the second NHL playoff game of his career.

Being the favourite in this matchup, he might be a little nervous, and the Penguins can be a dangerous scoring squad. The Rangers have lots of talent up front as well, so I expect this one to go back and forth.

Nathan MacKinnon to score anytime vs Nashville Predators +105

It kind of went under the radar with so many storylines going on down the stretch in the NHL, but over the last three months of the regular season, Nathan MacKinnon was one of the league’s top-five goal scorers.

Couple that with the fact that he’s been among the league’s most incredible playoff performers from the moment he got to play in the postseason, and you can expect him to set the tone of this series early.

Andrew Mangiapane to score anytime vs Dallas Stars +165

Between the Calgary Flames and the Dallas Stars, we have two of the best lines in the NHL facing off against each other - the Gaudreau line in Calgary against the Pavelski line in Dallas, and I fully expect them to nearly cancel each other out.

With that matchup ending in a stalemate or close to it, secondary and depth scoring is going to reign supreme in this series, and the best depth scorer on either team is pint-sized Andrew Mangiapane.

While the narrative every year is that you have to be big to score in the playoffs, the little guys always seem to find a way to the top of the leaderboard, especially if they play with no fear like Mangiapane does. He’s going to be incredibly important for the Flames in these playoffs.