There are only two games in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs for Thursday but there’s plenty of money to be won. The Boston Bruins head to New York to take on the Islanders with the series tied two games apiece, and the Carolina Hurricanes find themselves in a 2-0 hole against the defending Stanley Cup champs as their series shifts to Tampa Bay.

Below you’ll see a breakdown of each game, including a pick and a couple of shot props to consider.

Boston Bruins -133 (DraftKings) at New York Islanders +120 (PointsBet) – 5.5

The New York Islanders return home for Game 3 after tying up their series with the Boston Bruins on Monday. New York blew a 3-1 lead late in the third, but Casey Cizikas scored with just under six minutes left in the first overtime to seal the win. New York was lucky to get the split in Boston because they’ve been badly outplayed at 5v5 through the first two games of the series.

Through two games at 5v5, the Bruins have 43 more shot attempts, 24 more shots on goal, 37 more scoring chances, 10 more high-danger chances and two more goals. They have a 5.8 xGF mark compared to New York’s 3.09 xGF. In fact, they lead the playoffs with a 2.84 xGF/60 at 5v5.

Semyon Varlamov received the start for Game 2 after riding the pine in the first game, and it turned out to be a good move, as he turned aside 39 of 42 shots. Varlamov will likely see a lot of rubber, especially from Boston’s top line as they’ve been fantastic in this series and throughout the playoffs.

David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand have 45 shot attempts, 30 shots, five goals and 10 points through two games. The perfection line had its way with Washington in Round 1, and I expect them to be the difference not only in Game 3, but in this series.

Overall, the Bruins have taken four of their last five games against the Islanders with four of those games going under the number. I think that’s a trend we can continue to attack here. If your book offers shot props, consider the over on Pastrnak, as he leads the playoffs with 71 shot attempts and 40 shots on goal. He’s cleared 3.5 shots on goal in every game throughout the playoffs.

Prediction: 3-2, Boston

Best Bet: Under

Props: David Pastrnak O 3.5 SOG; Patrice Bergeron O 3.5 SOG

Carolina Hurricanes +140 (PointsBet) at Tampa Bay Lightning -161 (WilliamHill) – 5.5

The Hurricanes are in a must-win situation after dropping the first two games at home to the Lightning. You could argue that Carolina has been the better team through two games, as it has the edge in shot attempts, shots and scoring chances at 5v5, but they lost both games 2-1 thanks to strong goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Vasilevskiy has a rock-solid .953 SV% and 1.59 GAA at 5v5 in these playoffs. He has a league-best 4.89 GSAA and .933 HDSV%. He enters Game 3 having allowed two goals over his last three games. The 2018-19 Vezina Trophy winner and current Vezina nominee stopped 97 of the last 99 shots.

I think we’ll see everything the Hurricanes have to offer for Game 3, as they can’t afford to go down 3-0. Consider them on the money line at +140 but my favorite play is under 5.5 given how strong Vasilevskiy and Alex Nedeljkovic have looked. Nedeljkovic has allowed a couple of goals he would like to have back but he’s only allowed seven goals in five games vs. Tampa Bay this season. He has a shutout against the Bolts, and he’s surrendered two goals or fewer every game.

Prediction: 3-2, Carolina

Best Bet: Under

Props: Andrei Svechnikov O 2.5 SOG; Victor Hedman O 0.5 Total Assists