It's a great weekend to be a sports fan, though when you think about it, most weekends are. We've had the NCAA Tournament to get us through the past three weeks, and you would think that once it comes to an end, there'd be a lull in the sports calendar, but there rarely is.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs have begun, and so has the Masters. On Saturday, the NBA playoffs will start, and of course, there's baseball, which is chugging along with balls flying out of the park at a ridiculous rate.
In other words, it's another great weekend to sit on the couch and do nothing, and why not get started on Friday night with these three games?
All odds via Westgate.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Islanders: Penguins -117
Stanley Cup Playoffs (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN)
I don't bet on hockey all that often, but when the Penguins are road favorites in a playoff game, it's typically for a reason. They're also successful when favored, as they've gone 16-5 in their last 21 games as a favorite in the playoffs, as well as 5-1 the previous five times they've been a road favorite. The fact they're down 1-0 in the series after an overtime loss in Game 1 only makes me more confident in them here.
If you're playing NHL DFS on Friday night, you'll want to hear what Mike McClure has to say. The DFS millionaire is locking in Lightning wing Nikita Kucherov into his tournament lineups, which you can find only at SportsLine.
2. Milwaukee Brewers at Los Angeles Dodgers: Under 8.5
The under has been a good play between these teams in recent history. It's 4-1-1 in their last six meetings, and it's an impressive 8-2-1 the previous 11 times they've played in Los Angeles. The Under is also 5-2 in Dodgers starter Julio Urias' last seven home starts, and 10-1-1 the last 12 times the Brewers have been in the visitor's dugout. It might seem scary taking an Under with two of the better offenses in baseball, but these are also two of the best teams. And the best teams become the best teams by limiting their opponent's offense. I expect we see that here tonight.
SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh is on a hot 11-4 run on his MLB picks, and he's historically been great picking games involving the Blue Jays or Rays. He's making the Rays one of his Friday best bets, and check out who else he's backing.
3. Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants: Under 8
Oracle Park has always been a beautiful park to take Unders in. The Under has gone 19-6-2 in San Francisco's last 27 home games, and it's 6-0 in the previous six games between these two. Furthermore, Colorado's offense has struggled against lefties this season, posting a wOBA of only .270. With southpaw Drew Pomeranz on the mound for San Francisco, that makes the Giants an appealing option on the money line as well, but I think the best value is on the total.
Are you putting Mark Canha into your DFS lineups on Friday? SportsLine's Mike McClure has identified Canha as a strong matchup play for his tournament lineups, and you can see who else he's adding in all formats over at SportsLine.
