A quick note on how we pick: until our model ships, the only Vegas line we print is on the marquee game, pulled fresh from a sportsbook the morning of. The rest of the slate is here so you know what to watch and where, not who to bet. Full schedule and tiles live at watch.uristocrat.com.
Thursday gives you a Stanley Cup Final swing game, a full midweek MLB card from 1 PM ET on, and four WNBA games including Caitlin Clark's Fever at home. Start with the hockey.
Marquee: Vegas Golden Knights at Carolina Hurricanes, Stanley Cup Final Game 5 (8:00 PM ET, ABC)
The series is tied 2-2 and now it gets real. Carolina won Game 4 in Las Vegas 5-3 to take back home ice, so Game 5 is back in Raleigh with the winner one victory from the Cup. Both of these teams made their name on defense all year, then threw it out the window in this final. They have combined for 33 goals through four games, the most in the first four games of a Cup Final since 1981. If that keeps up, this one turns into a track meet, and the Hurricanes get the last change in their own building.
Vegas line: Hurricanes -1.5 (+164), moneyline -162, total 6.5 (ESPN).
Also tonight
- Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever (7:00 PM ET). The biggest draw in the WNBA, with a catch. Caitlin Clark is listed day-to-day, so check her status before you tune in. If she plays, the building is electric. If she sits, the Fever still have to handle a Sky team missing Courtney Vandersloot.
- Los Angeles Dodgers at Pittsburgh Pirates (6:40 PM ET). The Dodgers travel to PNC Park, one of the best places to watch a ballgame in the country. Pittsburgh is well off the pace, but Los Angeles is must-watch on the road and the Pirates have the arms to make a night of it.
- Seattle Mariners at Baltimore Orioles (7:00 PM ET). The night's national MLB window on ESPN. Two clubs trying to stay in the wild card mix, with Seattle's pitching against a young Baltimore lineup.
- New York Liberty at Atlanta Dream (7:30 PM ET). The Liberty are one of the title favorites and Atlanta has been a tougher out than expected. Sabrina Ionescu is listed out for New York, so the Liberty's depth gets tested on the road.
- Las Vegas Aces at Portland Fire (10:00 PM ET). Worth a late look. The Aces visit the expansion Portland Fire, so you get a veteran contender against the league's newest team in front of a fresh crowd.
- St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets (1:10 PM ET). A day-game start at Citi Field if you want baseball with lunch. The Mets are in the thick of the NL East race and the Cardinals keep hanging around.
The thread tonight is defense going out the window. The two stingiest teams in hockey are trading goals in the Cup Final, the Dodgers and Mets headline a deep MLB card, and the WNBA night hinges on one injury report in Indianapolis. Pick a screen and go.
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