Stanley Cup Playoffs start April 19 with few value bets left ahead of first round
The NHL Playoffs are fast approaching and despite the first round not being set just yet we can already starting taking bets for what we think will happen.
All season, we've been looking at future bets for the Stanley Cup, each conference and division as well as awards to be handed out.
We now finally get to add to it with some predictions on how the first round will go. We explore who will go on a potential run and who will bow out early in disappointing fashion.
All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
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Edmonton Oilers to Win 1+ Playoff Series (-156)
The Kings have been rolling this season with a 44-24-9 record that has them slated to have home-ice in their first round matchup likely versus the Edmonton Oilers.
The defending Western Conference Champions have been missing key players down the final stretch like superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as well as top pair defenceman Mattias Ekholm. They will be rested and hopefully healthy heading into a matchup against a Kings team that is very home-dependant.
LA is tied with the Winnipeg Jets for the best home record in the NHL at 29-5-4 but this overshadows the Kings abysmal 15-19-5 road record. This places them behind the likes of the Flames, Canucks and Utah Hockey Club, who are all expected to miss the playoffs.
The Kings have won just once in their last eight trips to Edmonton and could prevent them from moving on to the second round.
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The Oilers have bonfied stars that carried them to a 7-6 road record last postseason. Because of this and the lack of star power for LA, I expect the Kings to struggle in at least one home game that Edmonton should be able to edge out and take a stranglehold of the series.
Toronto Maple Leafs to Win 1+ Playoff Series (-122)
Expecting that Toronto would get past the first round used to be a tall order but after years of troubleshooting and putting together a solid roster full of star talent, this is the best chance to win ever.
The amount of mythbusters being surpassed by this group is starting to create a feeling like the Leafs can finally do real damage for once. They are pegged to get a first round matchup easier than most against an inexperienced Ottawa Senators team.
Linus Ullmark Gifts One To Auston Matthews 😱#NHL #Hockey #shorts #NHLshorts #NHLhighlights #MapleLeafs #Leafs #TorontoMapleLeafs #Toronto #Senators #OttawaSenators #OttawaFacing off against the tenth-youngest team in the league should give Toronto a confidence-building series that as a franchise, they could really use.
Ottawa has downed the Maple Leafs four straight times this season but playoff hockey is a different atmosphere with Toronto simply having far more experience.
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This team has dealt with the heartbreak of multiple hard losses and will be more motivated to get the job done against a red hot Senators team that is due for a cool off. The confidence built during this round will play the biggest factor in how challenging the second round will be.
Toronto Maple Leafs to Win 2+ Playoff Series (+310)
The current assumption is that the Battle of Florida will take the most out of both the Panthers and Lightning with each side having a sizeable amount of playoff experience and should make for a captivating series.
The biggest hope for the Maple Leafs is that this chips away at the already beat up Florida Panthers, who have missed many key players lately in captain Aleksander Barkov as well as star forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart.
Lightning's Kucherov Ejected After Knee-On-Knee Collision With TkachukWatch as Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov is thrown out of the game in the first period against the Florida Panthers following a knee-on-knee collision ...If the Cats can make it out of Tampa, it'll be likely without one of their stars and this should bold well for the Leafs.
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If the Bolts prevail, the Maple Leafs should enter with more confidence as they will be able to say they beat Tampa Bay the last time they squared off in the playoffs plus beat them three straight matchups this season.
A Toronto team making the conference Finals isn't out of the question so long as all the chips fall the right way for the Maple Leafs.
