The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs continues with a pair of Game 2s on Thursday night. Read on for our NHL best bets for Thursday based on the best NHL odds.
Home-ice advantage paid off for the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars are hoping that continues on Thursday night as both teams look to even up the series at 1-1 after dropping Game 1.
Here are our best NHL picks (odds via BetMGM, DraftKings, and FoxBet; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Thursday's NHL schedule and odds
(Odds via DraftKings)
- Florida Panthers (+160) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (-190)
- Seattle Kraken (+165) vs. Dallas Stars (-195)
Thursday's NHL best bets
- Player p rop: Morgan Rielly Over 0.5 points (-138 via FanDuel) ????
- Player prop: Joe Pavelski Over 0.5 goals (+182 via FanDuel) ???
- Moneyline: Maple Leafs ML (-182 via FoxBet) vs. Panthers ????
- Total: Kraken vs. Stars Over 5.5 goals (+110 via DraftKings) ???
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Thursday's NHL player prop picks
This cashed in Game 1 at -130 and the best NHL betting sites haven't adjusted nearly enough. FanDuel offers the best price at -138 with DraftKings slightly behind at -140.
Rielly did not record a point in Game 1 of the first round, but has since done so in the last six games.
The Panthers tend to allow a lot of goals, especially on the road, and the Maple Leafs defenseman has taken advantage of that. He has a point in three of four games against Florida this season after six points in three games against the Cats last year.
The Leafs should be able to score at least three or four goals with Rielly getting in on the action.
Check out our Stanley Cup odds and Conn Smythe Trophy odds.
The Kraken had no answer for Pavelski in Game 1, as the Stars forward returned with a bang by putting up all four of Dallas' goals in the 5-4 overtime defeat. Pavelski is one of the best deflectors of the puck in the game and that was on full display to open the series.
Pavelski finished the regular season on a tear with 14 goals in his final 20 games and that's carried over into the postseason.
Pavelski is a pest in front of the n et, especially on the power play, and FanDuel is hanging a +182 line with most of the best sportsbooks at +150. Take advantage of this off-market price and hope Pavelski can stay hot against the Kraken.
Thursday's NHL game picks
The Maple Leafs are in a can't-lose situation after dropping Game 1 of their first second-round series since 2004. Toronto played well for most of the game, but could not capitalize on its chances as the Cats took Game 1.
However, all signs point to the Leafs bouncing back in Game 2. The Panthers were only 23-20-3 on the road this season while the Leafs were 28-11-6 at home.
This is a four-star play at the -182 line that FoxBet is offering. The next best odds are -190 (DraftKings) with the Leafs as high as -200 at FanDuel.
If the line continues to move that way, or if you only have -20 0 offered, this would come down to a three-star play as a -200 favorite in the playoffs could easily be upset.
It seemed like a series between these teams would be lower-scoring, but that wasn't the case in Game 1. The total was also 5.5 for Game 1 and then there were six goals scored in the first period en route to a 5-4 final in overtime.
The total is once again at 5.5 with the Over at plus odds. The Kraken scored 3.52 goals per game in the regular season with Dallas at 3.43. Things tighten up in the playoffs, but after nine goals in the opening game, the Over 5.5 at +110 is the play.
NHL picks made 5/4/2023 at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Here are our best NHL betting sites:
- FanDuel: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our FanDuel Review
- Caesars: Earn Up to a $1,250 Bet Credit | Read our Caesars Re view
- DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
- PointsBet: Earn Five Second-Chance Bets Up to $50 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
- BetMGM: Get a Bonus Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review
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