NHL Playoffs Second-Round Series Best Bets, Odds and Stanley Cup Futures
The second round of the NHL Playoffs commences Tuesday night and oddsmakers at SI Sportsbook have released series odds for all the matchups, as well as various futures markets in the 2022 quest to hoist the Stanley Cup.
In our first round NHL betting preview, the respected money from Las Vegas won all of their wagers while backing three underdogs.
Let’s dive in and take a deeper look at all the second-round matchups and see where the respected money in Vegas has arrived!
Image courtesy of NHL.com
STANLEY CUP FUTURE ODDS
Colorado Avalanche +200
Florida Panthers +350
Carolina Hurricanes +500
Calgary Flames +550
Tampa Bay Lightning +700
New York Rangers +1200
Edmonton Oilers +1200
St. Louis Blues +1400
EASTERN CONFERENCE FUTURE ODDS
Florida Panthers +163
Carolina Hurricanes +188
Tampa Bay Lightning +320
New York Rangers +500
Lynne Sladky/AP
Atlantic Division Series Betting Odds
No. 1 Panthers (-167) vs. No. 3 Lightning (+145)
Regular-season matchups: Florida wins series, 3-1
The Panthers remain the overall betting favorite to win the Eastern Conference (+163) after earning a hard-fought first round victory over the Washington Capitals. The Panthers finished the regular season with the best goal differential (+94). In the postseason, the Panthers have played three of its six games to under the posted total thanks to the solid efforts of Sergei Bobrovsky, who is 4-2 with a 2.79 GAA.
Forward Carter Verhaeghe was sensational in the first round against the Capitals, scoring the second-most points (12) of any player in the playoffs after notching six goals and six assists. Jonathan Huberdeau, who finished tied for second in scoring in the regular season, was shockingly quiet with just one goal and two assists.
Tampa Bay, with its experience and championship pedigree, continues to offer solid value at odds of +320 to win the Eastern Conference. The Lightning, in search of a Stanley Cup three-peat, advanced to the second round after coming back from a 3-2 series deficit to beat Toronto in seven games. Both of the team’s leading playoff scorers Nikita Kucherov (two goals, six assists) and Victor Hedman (two goals, five assists) surprisingly finished the series with a negative mark in the plus/minus category.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, who tied for the league-lead in wins (39) in the regular season, was outstanding in between the pipes for the Lightning in the first round. He posted a 4-3 record with a 3.04 GAA. The two-time Stanley Cup Champion was superb in Game 7, stopping 30 of 31 shots on the road in Toronto.
It is never easy to fade the defending champions, but Florida was the best team in the NHL in the regular season and appear poised to end the reign of its in-state rival. The potential absence of forward Brayden Point (lower body injury) for an unknown period of time is a massive loss for Tampa Bay.
John Minchillo/AP
Metropolitan Division Series Betting Odds
No. 1 Hurricanes (-222) vs. No. 2 Rangers (+175)
Regular-season matchups: Carolina wins series, 3-1
The Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins in seven games despite missing the services of starting netminder Frederik Andersen (lower body injury). Veteran Antti Raanta stepped in and was outstanding leading the Hurricanes to three pivotal wins with an impressive 2.37 GAA. Andersen is reportedly expected to return and make his 2022 postseason debut in the second round against the Rangers.
Carolina was led in scoring in the first round by defenseman Tony DeAngelo (one goal, seven assists; eight points) and Jaccob Slavin (two goals, six assists; eight points). Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, who were both major offensive contributors in the regular season, will need to match the firepower of New York in the second round.
The Rangers are one of the best values on the betting board to win this series (+175) and the Eastern Conference (+500). Igor Shesterkin, who was the best goalie in the regular season, was recently named a finalist for the Vezina Award as well as Hart Memorial Trophy. Shesterkin, who was pulled in two of the first four games against Pittsburgh, responded tremendously in his first career playoff action by leading the club to three consecutive wins helping to erase a 3-1 series deficit.
The Rangers’ big four of Chris Krieder, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox stepped up when New York needed them most in the first round. In a pivotal Gamd 6 road victory, Zibanejad and Kredier combined for four of the team’s five goals - while Fox notched an assist on four of the goals. In game seven, the lethal top-line duo each scored pivotal goals while Panarin notched the overtime game-winner.
New York will face a Carolina roster loaded with ex-Rangers consisting of DeAngelo, Derek Stepan, Jesper Fast, Brady Skjei, Brendan Smith and Antti Raanta. The young Rangers are way ahead of their rebuilding process and if Shesterkin reverts to the form he displayed in the regular season, New York could be playing in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2015.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FUTURE ODDS
Colorado Avalanche -125
Calgary Flames +125
Edmonton Oilers +600
St. Louis Blues +700
David Zalubowski/AP
Central Division Series Betting Odds
No. 1 Avalanche (-400) vs. No. 3 Blues (+300)
Regular-season matchups: Colorado wins series, 2-1
The Avalanche, who finished with the best overall record in the Western Conference, displayed that dominance in their first-round sweep of the Nashville Predators. Oddsmakers at SI Sportsbook have the Avalanche listed as the only prohibitive betting favorite to win their conference at -125 odds, ahead of Calgary (+250).
Defenseman Cale Makar, who scored 28 goals from the blue line in the regular season, has continued his solid offensive production in the playoffs by leading Colorado in scoring (three goals, seven assists; 10 points). Mikko Rantanen, who led the club in goals (36) in the regular season, surprisingly didn’t light the lamp in the first round but he did showcase his playmaking skills posting the second-most assists (5) of any Avalanche player. Nathan MacKinnon, who finished second to Rantanen in scoring in the regular season, led the Avs with five goals in the opening-round triumph.
Goalies Darcy Kuemper (2-0; 1.63 GAA) and Pavel Francouz (2-0; 2.97 GAA) were solid in net, allowing just nine goals on 111 shots in the four-game sweep.
The Blues received excellent balanced scoring in their first-round series win over Minnesota. David Perron, Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko each scored a team-high five goals against the Wild. O’Reilly was particularly dominant on special teams, notching four of his five goals on the power play.
Ville Husso, who was lights out down the stretch of the regular season in between the pipes by going 9-1-2, struggled in the first round, losing two of the first three games. Head coach Craig Berube decided to turn to back-up Jordan Binnington and it paid massive dividends. Binnington, who was 0-9 in his previous nine playoff starts, went 3-0 with a 1.67 GAA while helping the club advance past Minnesota in six games.
Colorado looks like the best team in the playoffs, which likely leaves St. Louis with little hope of pulling off a second consecutive series upset.
Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Pacific Division Series Betting Odds
No. 1 Flames (-200) vs. No. 2 Oilers (+160)
Regular-season matchups: Series tied, 2-2
Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, who each scored 100-plus points in the regular season, once again performed at an elite level in the seven-game series victory over Dallas. Gaudreau finished as the Flames’ leading scorer in the opening round (two goals, seven assists; nine points). The star forward, who is having a career-year, scored arguably the biggest goal in Flames history in overtime of Game 7, enabling Calgary to move on to a second-round matchup with the Oilers.
Jacob Markstrom, who led the NHL in shutouts (9) during the regular season, added another shutout to his accomplishments this season in the first-round series win over the Stars and leads all goalies in the playoffs with a minuscule 1.53 GAA.
The NHL’s leading scorer in the regular season, Connor McDavid (44 goals, 79 assists; 123 points) continued his dominance in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings. McDavid, who leads all players in playoff scoring (four goals, 10 assists; 14 points), received solid support from veteran teammate Evander Kane, who knocked home a team-high seven goals in the first round.
The Battle of Alberta will be “Must Watch TV” as Gaudreau and Tkachuk take on McDavid and Draisaitl. The difference in this matchup will likely be Markstrom, who is the hottest goaltender heading into the second round.
NHL Second-Round Series Best Bet
As we shared here only at SI Betting last week, respected money from Las Vegas backed three underdogs in the first round and won all of their investments.
However, in the second round, the wise guy money in the desert is backing two favorites to advance.
Respected Money Second-Round Series Parlay (Full Unit) Odds: +149
Florida Panthers (-152)
Calgary Flames (-200)
2022 Respected Money NHL Series Playoff Betting
Series Bets: 3-0
Exotic Series Parlay: 1-0 +394 (half unit)
Overall: +4.97 units
Frankie Taddeo is a successful high-stakes fantasy football player who created the first-ever DFS program ever offered in a Las Vegas sportsbook. Frankie is SI Betting's Senior Analyst and provides his significant experience and resources in the sports betting scene. You can follow Frankie on Twitter @Frankie_Fantasy for his latest betting and fantasy insights from Las Vegas.
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