NHL picks: Panthers vs. Lightning, Golden Knights vs. Wild

We make a pair of Game 6 picks for Wednesday night as the Stanley Cup Playoffs roll on!

First up is a battle between the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Then we’ll look at the late-night affair between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild.

Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning, 8:00 p.m. ET, CNBC

The Lightning will likely end the visiting Panthers’ season in Game 6 on Wednesday night, but the Over looks like the better bet.

Three of the first five games of this series have exceeded the total, with at least one side tallying no fewer than four goals in four of those tilts. Both power plays are clicking at exceptional clips, as the “Sunshine State” squads are a combined 13-for-37 (35.1%) with the man advantage.

Tampa has averaged 3.60 goals per game at home this year, the second-best mark in the NHL. Nikita Kucherov was blanked on the scoresheet for the first time in this series on Monday night, but he accounted for three goals and six assists in the previous four contests against Florida.

The Panthers have brought their “A-game” on the road time and time again in 2021, potting 3.43 goals per contest, good for second in the league. Jonathan Huberdeau has unsurprisingly done a lot of the heavy lifting on offense for Florida in this series, accounting for two goals and eight assists.

Expect the Over to cash for the ninth time in 10 meetings between Florida and Tampa at Amalie Arena in Game 6.

NHL pick: Over

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Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild, 9:00 p.m. ET, NBCSN

The Golden Knights missed their chance to close out the series against the Wild in Vegas on Monday night, but they’re unlikely to let it happen again in Game 6.

Minnesota was extremely fortunate to escape with a 4-2 victory in Game 5, as they managed a grand total of 14 shots. It was actually the second time this series than the Wild were held to fewer than 20 shots.

Vegas netminder Marc-Andre Fleury had a rare off-night on Monday, allowing three of the 13 pucks he saw get by. Even with that subpar performance factored in, Fleury still sports a 1.40 GAA and .946 save % in this series.

Look for Golden Knights right winger Mark Stone – who has four goals in the last three games of this series – to stay hot as Vegas wraps things up at a nice price in the Xcel Energy Center.

NHL pick: Golden Knights -139