Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is set for Tuesday night as the Vegas Golden Knights host the Florida Panthers.
And with Game 5 come plenty of angles to sift through on PrizePicks.
But first, a quick refresher if you aren’t familiar with PrizePicks: You can combine up to five different player squares to pay out up to 10x your entry.
You can do a Flex Play or a Power Play. A Flex Play gives you lesser odds, but you can win money even if you don’t nail every pick. A Power Play is an all-or-nothing endeavor.
Here’s how I would approach Tuesday's Game 5 (8 p.m. ET, TNT).
What is PrizePicks? A daily fantasy operator — meaning they’re available in more states (30) than sports betting is! — PrizePicks offers a unique opportunity for action on player picks in which you combine two or more entries together.
Jonathan Marchessault + Aleksander Barkov More Than 0.5 Goals
We just need one of these two to bury the puck for this entry to go green.
First, let’s look at Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault, who’s scored in three of the four games this series.
Following a quiet opening series against the Jets, Marchessault has exploded offensively, scoring 13 goals over the past 14 games. This postseason, he leads the Knights in expected goals per 60 minutes (xGF/60) at five-on-five.
The Ivan Barbashev-Jack Eichel-Marchessault line has been – by far – the most dominating line for Vegas during the playoffs, with all due respect to the fourth line (William Carrier-Nicolas Roy-Keegan Kolesar) that has played extremely well in its own right.
That aforementioned first line has generated a xGoals% of 55.2% this postseason, producing an excellent 3.30 xGF/60.
The biggest concern in backing Marchessault to score is Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who’s put together a tremendous string of performances in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, he’s finally come back down to earth in this series, allowing 13 goals on 104 shots for a fade-worthy .875 SV% through the first four games.
Meanwhile, Aleksander Barkov finally broke through in Game 4, scoring in the third period while also adding an assist. It has been an unusually quiet series for Barkov, but with the monkey finally off the back, he could continue to contribute in Game 5.
Sergei Bobrovsky Less Than 28.5 Saves
Sergei Bobrovsky was put on a pedestal during the Florida Panthers' seemingly magical Cup run, and for good reason. The guy was a phenom between the pipes through the first three rounds, outpacing every other goaltender – by a pretty wide margin – in both SV% and goals saved above expected (GSAx).
However, this is still a guy who got benched for Alex Lyon in the regular season, and the regression many were expecting to hit throughout this playoff push has finally come to fruition in the Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. Through the first four games of this series, Bobrovsky has surrendered 13 goals on 104 shots for a fade-worthy .875 SV%.
Granted, the weak blue line in front of him often leaves Bobrovsky out high and dry multiple times throughout the game, so I do not put the blame solely on him. With that said, he has recorded 28 or fewer saves in each of the past three games, and the only time he cleared this number was by the hook in Game 1 with a 29-save performance.
Anton Lundell More Than 2 Shots on Goal
Despite a disappointing Cup Final from the Florida Panthers, there is a lot they can hang their hats on from this postseason push. First of all, just making the Cup Final is a success in its own right, especially since they were the last Eastern Conference team in and had to get through the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes.
Secondly, the team can be proud of the emergence of young forward Anton Lundell. The 21-year-old Finnish skater had a relatively quiet regular season, posting 12 goals while adding 21 assists through 73 games.
However, he has been critical to this team's success during the playoffs in more ways than the box score can illuminate. Through the first four games of this series, Lundell has notched a goal and two assists, which ties him for the lead in points for Florida.
Lundell plays well in all three zones, and he's been one of the rare constant factors for a Panthers team that has struggled mightily in this series. With that said, I expect his number to get called a decent amount this game, especially with how banged up the rest of the forward group is.
He has recorded at least two shots on goal in four of his past five games.
