As of Sunday night, May 3rd, Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has ended, and Round 2 began on Saturday, May 2nd. Round 1 featured 12 games that went to overtime and at least 1 overtime game in each series. From the bets in my Round 1 article, my overall record was 2-1 (+1.65 units) on series spreads, 2-2 (+1.25 units) on series total games, and 0-4 (-.45 units) on player props.
I also placed wagers on the series spread for the Anaheim Ducks at +1.5 games (+1 unit), and the series spread for the Utah Mammoth at +1.5 games (-1.35 units). Given those results, I was able to leave Round 1 up 2.1 units, so not too shabby.
Stanley Cup Playoff: Flyers vs. Hurricanes
Going back to the regular season between the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes, we saw the Canes take the season series 4 games to none. However, every game was decided by one goal, and three of the games went to a shootout while the other was decided in overtime. I know this series has already started at the time of this article being posted, but I was able to grab the Flyers at +1.5 games in the series (DraftKings +125).
With that being said, only one game has been played, and the result was a 3-0 win by Carolina, but it seemed more dominant than the final score lets on. Just by watching the game, Carolina seemed to be the more aggressive team offensively, and if Philly wants a chance in this series, they will need to create more chances and limit Carolina’s.
Stanley Cup Playoff: Ducks vs. Knights
When it comes to the Round 2 series between the Anaheim Ducks and the Vegas Golden Knights, the series price seems to be mispriced by Vegas (bookmakers). Vegas is favored by as much as -210 at DraftKings, and you can find Anaheim as a +164 underdog at FanDuel. The prices on this series winner are very surprising after seeing the Ducks blank VGK in the season series at 3 games to none, with each game being decided by a score of 4-3. However, the series price may reflect the fact that John Tortorella took over the Vegas Knights team on March 29th, and since then, they have had a record of 11-3.
Both teams have stars and veterans, with the likes of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Mitch Marner, and Pavel Dorofeyev for Vegas and Cutter Gauthier, Jackson Lacombe, Chris Kreider, and Leo Carlsson for Anaheim. Given that list of talent, I expect this series to have a lot of fireworks and an all-out battle. You can get the series amount of games over 5.5 at FanDuel for -215, or you can head to DraftKings and get the series total amount of games at 6 for +210 or 7 games at +220.
Another bet I am looking at here makes too much sense to me, and that is Anaheim +1.5 games for the series spread at Caesars at -125. This may be a trap by the Las Vegas oddsmakers, but I see it as the Ducks being undervalued.
Stanley Cup Playoff: Canadiens vs. Sabres
The final series of Round 2, I am going to have a bet on, is between the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres. As I have done with my other series breakdowns, I want to reference the season between Montreal and Buffalo. The season series between the two teams saw each win two of the four games. Montreal won both games by a score of 4-2, one in Montreal and one in Buffalo, and the Sabres also won a game each at home and away by scores of 4-2 and 5-3.
Between the series winner prices and the season series results, I find this series very hard to pick a side/winner. However, I will go ahead and bet the series total amount of games, which you can find at Hard Rock Bet for a 6-game price of +210 and a 7-game price of +210 as well.
Another angle I see in this series is Buffalo to win game 1 due to them having four games of rest when game 1 is played on Tuesday, May 5th, versus Montreal’s two games of rest. Another thing that I see as an issue for Montreal is their recent offensive struggles, especially the scoring output by their top line, which includes Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky. Slafkovsky had a hat trick in game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning (his only goals in the series), and Caufield and Suzuki only scored once each in the series.
Stanley Cup Playoff: What the finals will look like in my opinion…
After seeing not only the Round 1 but also the Round 2 first game performances by both the Carolina Hurricanes and the Colorado Avalanche, I am convinced these two teams will play for the Stanley Cup. On one hand, Carolina has showcased a brick wall defense, only allowing 5 goals in four games in round 1, and when needed, can score as well. The Avalanche, on the other hand, have done almost the same by only allowing 5 goals in round 1 as well.
You can bet a Stanley Cup Final exacta (Carolina Hurricanes vs Colorado Avalanche) and find the best odds for that at Caesars at +300 for the Avs to win it all or +400 for the Canes to win it all.
