Picking a winner tonight between the Flames and Oilers is a very tough call.  The Flames are up against it, and have been dominant on home ice this season, but they have not been able to solve a high-flying McDavid and the rest of the Oilers offense.  Goaltending has been a huge question mark for both teams, and an enormous pair of goalie gaffs in game four had a decided impact on the game.  Markstrom's issues are unusual, but the Oilers' speed on offense has been phenomenal.  I am not sure that any goaltender would have much success at this point.

The Flames likely will regroup today, and do have a very fine and balanced attack themselves, and considering the play we have seen to date, a low scoring affair is unlikely.  The Total has climbed as high as 7 today, and I too expect another high scoring game.  Shop around for the best odds and take the total to go over.

With the series now tied, Carolina returns home where they have been dominant all season, and unbeaten in the playoffs. The Rangers are far less impressive on the road, but have the huge wildcard in this series which is Shesterkin. After mixed results in the Penguins series, he has been lights out in series two. Raanta and the Hurricanes allowed an uncharacteristic 4 goals last game, but their ability to dominate on home ice cannot be overlooked. Their inability to score in this series is also significant. A very low scoring win for the Hurricanes is the most likely result, but a Rangers’ victory is not out of the cards. The Canes have yet to give up more than 2 goals on home ice in the playoffs, and facing the League’s best goalie, another low total is a more dependable wager than picking a side on Thursday. I am sticking with the Under again today.

A pair of lefties square off when the Yankees meet the home-town Rays in the series opener. The Yankees are a good road team and a small favorite today. NY has a definite edge on offense, particularly in power. The Yankees have a league-leading 62 home runs compared to the Rays’ 46.

Cortez (1.80 ERA) starts for NY today. With 7 starts and 51 strikeouts, he has been one of the league’s toughest left-handers. He gave up 3 runs in is last start, but has otherwise been superlative.

Yarbrough (4.20 ERA) has just four appearances of short duration this season. He has been hit hard, to the tune of .295 this season, but has given up just 2 runs in his last 3 appearances.

The Rays are very good at managing pitching and have their usually solid bullpen to back up Yarbrough. One concern for the Yankees is that their usually excellent bullpen has struggled lately.

Yarbrough’s hits-allowed stats are concerning, especially when facing the Yankees. The Rays have an inate ability to win when I wager on them, but I am on the side of the favorite today. I expect another fine and long outing from Cortez, while the NY offense gives him all the run support he needs. Take the Yankees to win.

The Brewers face the Cardinals in St Louis, and both have premier starters on the mound. Left handed Eric Lauer (2.16 ERA) starts for the Brewers. Lauer has had a couple of slightly off outings this season, but most have been very high quality. His last start was a 7 inning shutout. He has shown great control, and has struck out 54 batters to date.

The Grand old man, Adam Wainwright starts for St. Louis. Wainwright had a couple of rough outings in April, but has been coming up roses in May. Opposing batters are hitting just .119 this month.

I am favoring the Brewers on Thursday for a couple of reasons. The Brewers are very tough on right-handers and are one of the few teams that has had success vs. Wainwright in the past. While the Cardinals’ hitting stats are huge over their last 10 games, two very high scoring games have skewed those stats. It has been a different story vs. good pitching. The Brewers are not the anemic team of last year, hitting in the middle of the pack or better this year.

My main concern with the Cards is their bullpen. While both starters will likely pitch for length, the Brewers have a huge edge in relief pitching, with a 2.34 ERA over the last 10 games compared to 5.14 for the Cardinals. The Brew crew knows how to finish a game , with 20 saves recorded this season, tops in the MLB. The Cardinals have just half that number. Take the Brewers, an underdog, to steal this one from the Cardinals on Thursday.

Dallas kept its season alive with a 119-109 win in Game 4. Despite never trailing after the first quarter and enjoying a 29-point advantage entering the fourth, things did get a bit too close for comfort near the end of the game. Thankfully, here we need not worry about the Mavericks having to win by any kind of margin. I’m taking the points.

The “world” will likely be on Golden State to respond at home where they haven’t lost in this postseason. However, the Mavs did build a sizable halftime lead here in Game 2 (72-58) before imploding down the stretch. 

After getting off to a horrible start in Game 1, the Mavs have played the Warriors tough in this series. Their season is still on the line and while no team has ever fought back from a 3-0 series deficit, we know that we’ll be getting Dallas’ best effort from here on out. 

Golden State is surprisingly only 4-7 straight up following a double digit loss this year. 

Dallas had its biggest edge from long range in Game 4. While I think it’s unlikely they can be +30 again, they have made more threes than the Warriors in all four games. The pointspread has yet to come into play in any Conference Finals game so far. It may very well here.