NHL Playoffs Round 2: Free NHL Picks Today for Sunday, May 30th, 2021

NHL Playoffs Round 2: Free NHL Picks Today for Sunday, May 30th, 2021
Sun 30th May 2021

With just the 2 games on the agenda today, we have had plenty of time this morning to research the fixtures in depth and bring you the absolute best predictions. Have a read below for all our NHL picks.

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Carolina Hurricanes (Round 2 – Game 1) – 5.00 PM EDT

The Lightning held strong against their bitter cross city rivals, the Florida Panthers, beating them 4-2 in one of the most entertaining series of the opening round.

The series averaged a whopping 6.83 goals per game on average, with the Lightning responsible for scoring 24 goals, an average of 4 per game. The points were shared amongst the team, with all three of Steven Stamkos, Alex Killorn and Victor Hedman picking up 8 points, while Nikita Kucherov leads with 11 points.

Kucherov, who was the top scorer during the 2019/20 postseason, has had the exact impact that was expected from him upon his return from a season long injury, and has been crucial to the Lightning’s success so far.

The Tampa side now travel to Carolina to face the division champions for games’ 1 and 2. Throughout the regular season both the Lightning and the Hurricanes won 4 games each on the head to head, setting up what should be a very tight series in round 2.

The Hurricanes came within an overtime of sending their round 1 series against the Predators to game 7. After claiming a 3-2 series lead over the Nashville side they found themselves losing 3-1 in game 6, but thanks to some heroics from Sebastian Aho and Dougie Hamilton they managed to draw level.

With the game in overtime it took just 1 minute for Sebastian Aho to bury the decisive goal, his second of the game, and his team leading 5th of the postseason.

The Canes’ progression was expected, but did not come as swiftly as we thought, with the Predators putting up a solid fight. They now host the Lightning, which have had their struggles defensively, but are looking as strong as ever on the offense, which could prove a shock to the Canes. 

NHL Pick – Tampa Bay Lightning (-104)
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Vegas Golden Knights @ Colorado Avalanche (Round 2 – Game 1) – 8.00 PM EDT

One of the most mouth watering matchups of the playoffs is undoubtedly this battle between the Avalanche and the Golden Knights, two of the strongest teams in the league, which have been neck and neck throughout the regular season.

It was a matchup we expected to see, with the Avalanche completely dismantling the Blues in round 1, progressing past the St Louis side in straight games. While the Knights slogged their way through a gruelling 7 game series against the Wild, a team which notoriously proved difficult for the Vegas side this year.

The Avalanche scored an impressive 20 goals over their 4 games against the Blues, with Nathan MacKinnon responsible for scoring 6 of them, and 9 points in total. MacKinnon has been in inspired form, and the usual suspects, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog haven’t been too far behind with 7 and 8 points respectively.

As a result of their clinical showing against the Blues, the Avalanche progressed to round 2 a whole week ago from today, giving them plenty of time to prepare for this series, against a Knights’ outfit which last played on Friday. 

NHL Pick – Colorado Avalanche (-196)
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The 2021 NHL postseason is well underway now! If you want to catch up with all the latest information, make sure you visit our NHL hub page.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.

Connor is a passionate writer and sporting fanatic, with a focus on all things soccer, NBA, and NHL. Happy to chew your ear off about his beloved Tottenham Hotspur, or talk odds on the latest ball game. Connor always delivers the latest in breaking news, matchday analysis and predictions.