Stanley Cup Playoffs Continue: Underdogs Host at Home

• Game three for each NHL series begins today, with all teams on the docket being tied with their opponents in the series except for the Carolina Hurricanes, who are up 2-0.
• Game three will also be the first game that the underdogs play at home, leading to shifted odds.
• While many lines have responded to the results of the first two games, some remain the same and continue to hold value.

ELMONT, N.Y. – The Stanley Cup Playoffs is in full swing, with six out of eight total series being tied after the first two matchups. Now with the higher-seeded teams traveling for the third matchup, momentum could certainly start to shift in favor of the underdogs.

As a result, no team on the slate for today is favored by more than -160 odds on legal betting sites. The best props for each game, whether it be one of the main props or those of star players, will be covered below.

Hurricanes Look to Defenseman to Create Plays

With the Hurricanes now traveling to New York to face off against the Islanders, the first two games of data will help us narrow down some of the top props available. For the Islanders, it may be worth looking back towards their goalie for help find their best player prop available.

That goalie is Ilya Sorokin, who has a line for over 31.5 saves at -114 odds and has gone over that in both games this series with 35 in game one and 32 in game two. Though, it is worth keeping in mind that the Islanders do allow a couple shots less at home than away, which may make the prop a bit too close for comfort.

The Hurricanes best prop at legal NHL sportsbooks would be Brent Burns to log at least one assist, which stands at +110 odds, the most favored of any Hurricane. Burns has performed phenomenally in the series so far, chipping in two assists in each of the first two games.

His role as a distributor this season is well established as he tied for the team lead in assists and did so with the best plus/minus on the Canes as well. Now picking up steam, Burns can be expected to produce chances for his teammates through his strong passing skills, especially on the power play.

Panthers Dominate Game Two, Bringing Momentum Home

The Panthers were among the best teams on the ice in the last set of games, walloping the NHL’s top squad 6-3 and taking all of the momentum to their home ice for game three.

With the return of Sam Bennett paying dividends for Florida as well as continued mystery around Patrice Bergeron’s availability, the Panthers could be on the cusp of gaining a series lead as the +140 underdog, a play that certainly sports some value at those odds.

The specials on Bovada may offer more value here though, with a play that has David Pastrnak and Matthew Tkachuk to both have four or more shots on goal each with +165 odds. While Tkachuk has not performed as well in the shooting department over the first two games, at home he averages nearly four and a half shots, a stark rise from his average of 3.7 when away.

Pastrnak similarly has only managed four shots total over his last two games, but a bounce back is expected with the NHL’s shots on goal leader averaging just under five for the whole season. In fact, alternate odds say Pastrnak has -271 odds to get four or more, making this prop a great value for the two teams’ top skater.

Boldy Sports Plus Odds to Continue Dominance

Right off the bat, one prop stands out for the Wild vs Stars, that being Matt Boldy’s +110 odds to log four or more shots on goal. There is little reason to expect Boldy to slow down as his first two games in the series saw 14 total shots come from him, seven in each game.

Aside from Boldy, there is a solid +115 odds for Kirill Kaprizov to be an anytime goalscorer, as well as +135 odds for Jason Robertson to do the same. Both players are their team’s top scorer and have both scored at least once in this series, giving them quite approachable odds.

Though be weary of the combination of Filip Gustavsson and Jake Oettinger if both start as expected, as they have largely lowered the total goals for each team, making the shots on goal prop the preferred option for the game.

Back to the Well for Oilers vs Kings

As was covered in the last meeting between these two teams, today’s top prop is the exact same. A special that features +115 odds for a power play goal to be scored in the first period is another nice value on legal sportsbooks.

The Oilers have achieved this in both of the first games, and the best power play in the history of the NHL should see no reason to slow down either. The combination of Leon Draisatl and Connor McDavid on the ice at the same time is simply too much to handle for most teams, especially below-average penalty kill units such as the one that the Kings possess.