Hockey players are built different. Every year, when the jerseys come off for the summer, the hockey world gets a glimpse behind the curtain. What players were actually playing through. What they never said a word about. What they taped up, injected, and suited up with anyway because that is simply what you do in the playoffs.

Charlie McAvoy played through a broken hand for Boston's playoff run after sustaining the fracture in Game 2. Nikita Zadorov went further. After Boston's elimination, he disclosed that he had torn his MCL completely off the bone in Game 3 and kept playing on it. Connor McDavid revealed a broken bone in his foot, plus an ankle injury sustained in Game 2 after a collision with his own teammate.

Mikko Rantanen played six playoff games on a torn MCL that he originally suffered while representing Finland at the Olympics in February. Logan O'Connor already had his hip surgically repaired once, then dealt with a second hip surgery plus a mysterious November injury. Despite it, he has returned to be one of the more impactful players in Colorado's playoff run.

That is the culture.

And then there is Gabriel Landeskog, who goes beyond even that standard.

Landeskog captained the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup in 2022 and then disappeared for nearly three full seasons. What started as a routine knee procedure turned into a medical odyssey that included a rare cartilage transplant, a surgery that no NHL player had ever successfully returned from at that point. He missed the entire 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 regular seasons. Three years. Gone.

He came back during last year's playoffs and instantly recorded four points in five games despite the layoff. This season he played 60 games, missed none of them due to his knee, and helped his team go 45-7-8 when he was in the lineup. He is currently riding a five-game point streak in the 2026 playoffs with seven points in six games, including a power-play goal and an assist in Colorado's Game 2 win over Minnesota on Tuesday night.

He is a Masterton Trophy finalist, the award for perseverance and dedication to the game of hockey. His teammate Nathan MacKinnon said after game 2 that Landeskog fills a void nobody else can. Who can argue with three years of surgeries and rehabilitation to then post more than a point per game average in the playoffs.

The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in professional sports for a reason. Ask any of those guys if they would make the same sacrifice again and I bet I know their answer. It’s the culture.

🏀 WNBA is Back. Are You Ready to Bet It?

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Projections – See Jaxon's player prop projections alongside live over/under odds
Hit Rate – Track how consistently each player has hit their props over their recent games
Historical Data – Dig into season trends to find the spots the market is sleeping on
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🏀 Tip-off Your Weekend with Two NBA Props

Shifting from the ice to the hardwood, Friday night's playoff slate has two props worth adding to your card.

Paul George Over 2.5 Three-Pointers Made (-121)

The series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 with the Knicks holding a 2-0 lead and the injury report creating real uncertainty on both sides. OG Anunoby is questionable with a hamstring issue, Joel Embiid is working through a nagging ankle injury, and New York's bench depth has been the difference in both games.

Paul George has been Philadelphia's most reliable perimeter weapon throughout this series and the numbers back that up. He has cleared 2.5 made threes in every single one of his last seven games, averaging 4 made threes per game during that stretch. His longer-term hit rate sits at 75% over his last 20 games.

The matchup is the critical piece. New York's defense funnels opponents toward the perimeter to protect the rim, ranking 29th in the league in three-point shot frequency allowed at that position. That defensive philosophy essentially manufactures open looks for a shooter like George, and he has been taking full advantage.

In a must-win environment at home, expect his volume and aggression from deep to be even higher than usual.

Stephon Castle Over 15.5 Points (-114)

San Antonio blew Minnesota out by 38 points in Game 2, the largest margin of victory in Spurs playoff history, and the series now moves to Minnesota with the Wolves in genuine trouble. Anthony Edwards is hobbled, with reports indicating his burst and verticality are nearly nonexistent. Ayo Dosunmu remains day-to-day with a calf issue, leaving Minnesota's perimeter rotation dangerously thin.

Stephon Castle has been one of the quietly excellent stories of this postseason. He is averaging 19.3 points over his last six games and has cleared 15.5 in 80% of both his last five and last ten games.

His usage rate of 28.1% reflects how central he has become to San Antonio's offense, and he benefits directly from the defensive gravity Wembanyama creates. When the defense collapses on Wemby, Castle gets downhill opportunities that Minnesota's shorthanded backcourt has struggled to contain.

The line of 15.5 is below his recent average and the matchup is trending in his favor. Back him to keep it going in Game 3.

🌲 The Pine Line

🙏 Ted Turner never played the game. But few people did more to shape how America watched it.

⚾️ Something special is happening at Wrigley Field. Generations of Cubs fans have never seen anything like this.

🥊 Dana told them to “be good”. These two already started fighting ahead of UFC 328.

⛳️ Some golfers head back to PGA, others go to Youtube. One golfer remembered that retirement is also an option.

💰️ Jauan Jennings got his one-year deal with a new team. A discount deal compared to who he replaced.

🧹 Should You Bet on the Avalanche Sweep the Wild?

by Ed Egros 👉️ Follow on X @EdWithSports

Plenty of the hockey world laughed last year when Mikko Rantanen scored a Game 7 hat trick against his former team in the Colorado Avalanche, to end their season.

Now, it’s Colorado getting the last laugh.

Re-evaluating the Trade

When Colorado realized it couldn’t sign Rantanen to a long-term deal, trading him to Carolina and getting something out of the deal made sense.  The Hurricanes then flipped him to Dallas for their own haul as they didn’t want to lose him for nothing either.

What hasn’t been discussed enough is Colorado’s return: forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury and a second-round pick in the 2025 Draft that eventually became center Brock Nelson.

How It’s Working Out

Through six Stanley Cup Playoff games, Necas is tied for the team lead with six assists after posting 100 points in the regular season for the first time in his career.  Credit some of that success to becoming less of a distributor and not handling the puck in traffic as often.

As for the other guys, Nelson ranks second in expected goals per MoneyPuck and Jack Drury has added a goal and assist in these playoffs.  Taken together, these are exactly the stats that show the trade was not that lopsided.

Can the Domination Continue?

This depth has propelled the Avs to a 6-0 start these playoffs.  As ballyhooed as they’ve been, is it worth betting on Colorado to complete another sweep, this time against Minnesota?

For a series correct score, FanDuel has a sweep at +220 and a Gentleman’s Sweep (Colorado winning 4-1) at +200.

Here are things Jaxon and I believe are worth considering:

What’s Working for the Avs

Defensively, Minnesota has struggled to slow down one of the faster teams in hockey.  Colorado leads the playoff field with 18 speed bursts of at least 22 mph, with Nathan MacKinnon and Necas leading the charge. That speed has made their transition game seemingly unstoppable.

There’s also special teams.  In its last round, Minnesota allowed Dallas to convert on 40% of its power-play opportunities.  Conversion rate isn’t a stable metric from one series to the next, but the Wild defense has to be better given the firepower MacKinnon, Artturi Lehkonen and company have showcased.

Bet the Avalanche to Sweep (+220)

Though you don’t lose a lot betting on Colorado to win in five, the sweep is the value play.  Even as the series shifts to St. Paul, it’s hard to imagine what the Wild can do defensively to keep up with the Avs.

Bet smarter, not harder.

The edge isn’t luck, it’s knowing what the market doesn’t. Kick start your research by downloading the Pine Sports App. Pick your next winner with AI-powered insights in the palm of your hand.

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