Friday May 31 Best Bets & Picks For NHL Playoffs & MLB

The NHL conference semifinals are sizzling as we prepare to flip the calendar to June.

The Edmonton Oilers hope to carry their momentum into Game 5 Friday night in Dallas and put the Stars on the brink of elimination.

And what is the last day in May without tennis and baseball?

We have you covered, and we hope the Houston Astros cover for you.

Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars

The Edmonton Oilers rallied impressively to tie their Western Conference final series with Dallas at two games. The Oilers have outshot the Stars in every game of this series, but Dallas has two positives in Friday’s Game 5: the crowd and the elite play of goalie Jake Oettinger.

Oettinger is second during the postseason among goalies playing more than six games with a goals-against average of 2.20. He also is third on that list of qualifiers with a saves percentage of .919.

Dallas is set to tighten things up on the defensive end and roll more offense at Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner.

There’s no doubt Dallas learned a few things from the Game 4 defeat and will apply some enhanced defensive tactics. The bet here is that they succeed in keeping this duel much more of a grind.

Two-leg same-game parlay: Dallas Stars moneyline with UNDER 8.5 goals +100 (FanDuel)

Minnesota Twins at Houston Astros

The Astros were able to salvage one game in a four-game series at Seattle and now return home with dynamic Ronel Blanco scheduled to start.

The right-hander has been stunningly strong this season, posting a 5-0 mark with a 1.99 ERA, 51 strikeouts and a 1.01 WHIP in 54 1/3 innings pitched. He’s also allowed only 33 hits.

Last season, Blanco threw 52 innings, struck out 52 but allowed 49 hits. He’s dialed in.

The Twins travel to Texas with their starter, presumptive ace Pablo Lopez, mired in a slump. Last season, his first with Minnesota, Lopez posted a 3.66 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP. Through 11 starts in 2024, however, he hasn’t been a flame-thrower so much as a fire-starter (4-5, 5.25 ERA and 60 hits allowed in 60 innings of work).

And the right-hander has been awful in his past three starts, coughing up 16 earned runs in 16 innings. Astros left-handed hitters Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker are a wrecking crew unto themselves and if you’re going to the game and sitting in the outfield seats, bring your glove.

Astros team total OVER 3.5 runs with Astros moneyline at +130 (in “Game Props” at DraftKings)

French Open: Taylor Fritz vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis and Tommy Paul vs. Francisco Cerundolo

We’re feeling a little patriotic on the final day of May, so we are plunging into the (somewhat) unknown by backing two American tennis players on the clay in France.

Both Fritz, the 12th seed who faces unseeded Australian Kokkinakis, and Paul, seeded 14th as he takes on the No. 23 Cerudolo of Argentina, have won singles titles already this year and both have earned more career money than their respective opponents.

Yes, that’s about as deep as we are going to get.

Besides winning your wagers, the most important aspect is that you can watch these matches on any of several French Open multiview platforms.

American men’s tennis, believe it!

Two leg parlay: Fritz with Paul to win their respective matches at +101 (FanDuel).