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Ottawa opens its playoff run on the road Saturday night at Lenovo Center, and this is not an easy first draw. Carolina gets home ice, carries the stronger market respect, and comes in priced like the more complete team. That part is not surprising. The Hurricanes usually control games with structure, pressure, and territorial play, especially at home, and that tends to show up right away in playoff series. Still, this opener is not quite as simple as laying the favorite and moving on. Ottawa has enough pace and enough offensive push to make Carolina work for clean control, and that matters in Game 1. The Senators are the kind of underdog that can look outmatched for stretches and still

Minnesota opens its first-round series on the road Saturday at American Airlines Center against Dallas, with Game 1 set for 5:30 p.m. ET. This is one of those playoff matchups that has felt inevitable for weeks. The Wild finished 46-24-12 with 104 points, the Stars closed 50-20-12 with 112, and now the reward for Dallas is home ice in a series that should be tighter than the opening moneyline says. The Wild did not exactly limp into the postseason, but they were not pushing at full throttle late either. Minnesota had already locked in its spot and managed some lineup decisions down the stretch, so the recent results need context. Dallas, meanwhile, kept showing the profile of a team that

Philadelphia heads into Pittsburgh for Game 1 on Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena, and this opener feels tighter than the price suggests. The Flyers closed the regular season on a strong run, while the Penguins did enough to secure home ice in the matchup. That matters, of course, but so does current form, and Philadelphia looked a little cleaner structurally down the stretch. This is the kind of playoff game bettors usually overcomplicate. Pittsburgh has the more dangerous offensive ceiling and the stronger special teams profile, but Philadelphia has been the steadier team at five-on-five lately. That creates a real split in the handicap. If this stays mostly even strength, the dog has a real chance. If the whistles

Houston catcher Yainer Diaz was absent from the starting lineup on Friday when the Astros lost 9-4 to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a three-game interleague series. While the Astros have enjoyed success offensively this season, leading the American League in several categories, Diaz has labored. He is batting .094, with an on-base percentage of .094 and a slugging percentage of .188, since his last multi-hit game on April 4 against the Athletics, a span of eight games. Diaz, 27, is batting .186 for the season, with one homer and nine RBIs. Astros manager Joe Espada said the club is working with him to tweak some things related to his approach at the plate. “You always