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Another day, another pair of playoff games.

Let's take a look at a few plays that stand out from the rest of the board.

Aleksander Barkov: Over 0.5 assists

Barkov's playmaking has hit another level of late. He has 10 assists over his last 10 games, including three through two games against the Bruins.

Boston's long been an excellent defensive team with elite-level goaltending, but that hasn't stopped Barkov from torching it. He has at least one assist in seven of the last eight versus the Bruins, and 11 of 14 when zooming out further. He's on an incredible run.

I expect the good times to continue in Game 3. The Panthers have caved the Bruins in with Barkov on the ice at five-on-five in this series. They've won the shot-attempt battle 36-20 and controlled better than 72% of the expected goals.

Barkov is playing with a pair of excellent finishers in Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk at full strength. He also skates on the top power play, where he's clearly happy to defer to other shooters. Nobody on the top unit has attempted fewer power-play shots than Barkov in this series.

Odds: +110 (playable to -125)

Carter Verhaeghe: Over 3.5 shots

Verhaeghe's skating on the top line with Tkachuk and Barkov. While both of his linemates have already scored in the series, and Verhaeghe hasn't, it's Verhaeghe who's piling up the shots against Boston.

He's generated 12 shot attempts and nine scoring chances at five-on-five alone. Tkachuk (four attempts, three chances) and Barkov (four attempts, two chances) have deferred to Verhaeghe as the go-to shooter on the line.

He's maintained that role on the top power play as well. Verhaeghe has recorded more attempts and chances than anybody on the Panthers while up a man.

Put it all together, and Verhaeghe's piled up 22 attempts and 15 chances through two games, well clear of any player on either side.

With top-tier linemates in all situations and extremely strong volume, Verhaeghe is worth backing again in Game 3.

Odds: +107 (playable to -120)

Evan Bouchard: Over 0.5 assists

Bouchard tallied 64 assists during the regular season and has ramped things up even further in the playoffs. He has nine assists through six games, including one in Game 1 against the Canucks.

Bouchard sets up a ton of shots in the offensive zone while quarterbacking the offense. He's also attempted at least five shots in every playoff game thus far, helping create rebounds and possible deflections.

He touches the puck a ton on the most dangerous power play in the league and often plays behind either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl at even strength. He couldn't possibly get better usage for creating offense.

The Canucks' goaltending is a big question mark right now, and I'm expecting the Oilers to strongly test it as they look to grind out a split and steal home-ice advantage.

I expect they'll generate more shots/chances and score a handful of goals en route to a win. Look for Bouchard to pick up at least one assist, as he's done in 18 of his past 30 games (60%).

Odds: -130 (playable to -145)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vancouver Canucks can double the Edmonton Oilers' deficit Friday in Game 2 of their second-round playoff clash. How these key players perform throughout the series will shape the final result.

J.T. Miller: Vancouver's offensive and spiritual leader said, then proved, that he savors the intensity of the postseason. Several Canucks are dynamic talents, but Miller - a 100-point, rough-and-tumble, defensively attentive center - drives the bus. His sweet tip incited Edmonton's Game 1 meltdown. Vancouver has quieted the Predators' and Oilers' top forward lines when Miller has been on the ice to shadow them.

Connor McDavid: The Hart Trophy finalist lacked burst in Game 1 and consistently failed to gain a step on Miller or Vancouver's tall, rangy, physical defensemen. McDavid didn't put a shot on net for just the 19th time in 700 NHL appearances (regular or postseason), per Stathead. For McDavid to dominate without firing the puck, his stickhandling has to mesmerize the defense and open passing lanes.

Arturs Silovs: Thatcher Demko's injury didn't sink the Canucks in the Nashville matchup because Silovs and Casey DeSmith authored a joint .928 save percentage. It still feels precarious to deploy a fledgling rookie against McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. To help Silovs in Game 1, Vancouver battened the hatches, crowded the neutral and defensive zones, and held Edmonton to 18 shots, including none for 23 minutes as the lead changed hands.

Evander Kane: The 15-year vet has shown he can score in bunches and pelt the net with shots. Kane recorded five multi-goal playoff games in 2022, and his 3.33 shots per night rank third on the Oilers this spring. His chips off the boards during zone entries have led to goals in Edmonton's last two games. He's quick, creative, and capable of sparking offense when it's sorely needed.

Elias Lindholm: The disruptive Lindholm line - Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland flank him - netted three goals in both Canucks series openers. Lindholm made that possible by winning faceoffs, forechecking doggedly, and skating to the crease. The January acquisition has bought time for Elias Pettersson, who remains goalless on 11 shots through seven playoff games, to awake from his slumber.

Evan Bouchard: The dismal series debut of the Cody Ceci-Darnell Nurse pairing - which was next to the puck on four Canucks goals - puts pressure on Bouchard to be steady. Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm have allowed half as many dangerous shot attempts in the playoffs as Ceci and Nurse, per Natural Stat Trick. On the power play, Bouchard's forceful slapper could begin to trouble Silovs if the Oilers can draw more than one penalty.

Tyler Myers: The Canucks ask Myers and Carson Soucy to defend intimidating lines, be it Ryan O'Reilly's or McDavid's trio. Despite conceding good looks, they've only been scored on twice in the playoffs, including when Myers let Zach Hyman waltz to the faceoff dot to beat Silovs five-hole. Vancouver's defense hums when Myers douses more fires than he creates and Quinn Hughes and Nikita Zadorov race up ice to produce points.

Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vancouver Canucks can double the Edmonton Oilers' deficit Friday in Game 2 of their second-round playoff clash. How these key players perform throughout the series will shape the final result.

J.T. Miller: Vancouver's offensive and spiritual leader said, then proved, that he savors the intensity of the postseason. Several Canucks are dynamic talents, but Miller - a 100-point, rough-and-tumble, defensively attentive center - drives the bus. His sweet tip incited Edmonton's Game 1 meltdown. Vancouver has quieted the Predators' and Oilers' top forward lines when Miller has been on the ice to shadow them.

Connor McDavid: The Hart Trophy finalist lacked burst in Game 1 and consistently failed to gain a step on Miller or Vancouver's tall, rangy, physical defensemen. McDavid didn't put a shot on net for just the 19th time in 700 NHL appearances (regular or postseason), per Stathead. For McDavid to dominate without firing the puck, his stickhandling has to mesmerize the defense and open passing lanes.

Arturs Silovs: Thatcher Demko's injury didn't sink the Canucks in the Nashville matchup because Silovs and Casey DeSmith authored a joint .928 save percentage. It still feels precarious to deploy a fledgling rookie against McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. To help Silovs in Game 1, Vancouver battened the hatches, crowded the neutral and defensive zones, and held Edmonton to 18 shots, including none for 23 minutes as the lead changed hands.

Evander Kane: The 15-year vet has shown he can score in bunches and pelt the net with shots. Kane recorded five multi-goal playoff games in 2022, and his 3.33 shots per night rank third on the Oilers this spring. His chips off the boards during zone entries have led to goals in Edmonton's last two games. He's quick, creative, and capable of sparking offense when it's sorely needed.

Elias Lindholm: The disruptive Lindholm line - Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland flank him - netted three goals in both Canucks series openers. Lindholm made that possible by winning faceoffs, forechecking doggedly, and skating to the crease. The January acquisition has bought time for Elias Pettersson, who remains goalless on 11 shots through seven playoff games, to awake from his slumber.

Evan Bouchard: The dismal series debut of the Cody Ceci-Darnell Nurse pairing - which was next to the puck on four Canucks goals - puts pressure on Bouchard to be steady. Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm have allowed half as many dangerous shot attempts in the playoffs as Ceci and Nurse, per Natural Stat Trick. On the power play, Bouchard's forceful slapper could begin to trouble Silovs if the Oilers can draw more than one penalty.

Tyler Myers: The Canucks ask Myers and Carson Soucy to defend intimidating lines, be it Ryan O'Reilly's or McDavid's trio. Despite conceding good looks, they've only been scored on twice in the playoffs, including when Myers let Zach Hyman waltz to the faceoff dot to beat Silovs five-hole. Vancouver's defense hums when Myers douses more fires than he creates and Quinn Hughes and Nikita Zadorov race up ice to produce points.

Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.