Looking for one word that best describes the first round of the 2022 NHL postseason? No need to search for your thesaurus, as we’ve got you covered: competitive.
Of the eight opening-round matchups that landed on the NHL playoff odds board a little more than a week ago, one (Avalanche-Predators) finished in a sweep and another (Penguins-Rangers) has a 3-1 series margin. The other six? They’re all deadlocked at 2-2.
Four of those six series resume Tuesday night, with each home team favored to go up 3-2 and move within one victory of joining Colorado in the second round.
The way things have gone so far, it’s highly likely that we’ll see at least one Game 5 upset. Which road team has the best chance to pull it off? Props.com helps you answer that question by breaking down NHL playoff odds and action for Tuesday’s quartet of games.
Odds via DraftKings and WynnBet updated as of 5:45 p.m. ET on May 10.
Boston Bruins vs Carolina Hurricanes (Game 5)
Puck Drop/TV: 7 p.m. ET/TBS
Moneyline: Hurricanes -140/Bruins +130
Puck line: Hurricanes -1.5 (+175)/Bruins +1.5 (-210)
Total: 6 (Over +100/Under -120)
Best-of-7 series: Tied 2-2
Adjusted series odds: Hurricanes -130/Bruins +110
Slap shots: Trailing 2-1 late in the second period of Game 4 on Sunday, the Bruins scored the final four goals en route to a 5-2 victory to even their series with Carolina. Boston cashed as a slim -112 home chalk. The game cleared the 5.5-goal total, bringing the Over to 4-0 for the series.
Betting nuggets: The Hurricanes routed Boston 5-1 and 5-2 at home to open the series. At that point, Carolina was 6-0 against the Bruins this season with a +26 goal differential (32-6). … Before losing Games 3 and 4 in Boston, the Canes had been on a nine-game winning streak and had scored at least four goals in 11 of 13 games. … Carolina is 31-8-4 at home this season, including 3-0 against Boston. … The Bruins have lost four of their last five road games, including three in a row. They were outscored 19-5 in the four defeats. … The favorite is 4-0 in this series and 8-1 in the last nine head-to-head clashes. … The Over is 6-0 in the last six series meetings, 7-0 in Boston’s last seven overall and 11-3 in Carolina’s last 14 (7-0 last seven).
Prediction: Hurricanes 5, Bruins 2
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Toronto Maple Leafs (Game 5)
Puck Drop/TV: 7:30 p.m. ET/ESPN 2
Moneyline: Maple Leafs -135/Lightning +115
Puck line: Maple Leafs -1.5 (+180)/Lightning +1.5 (-220)
Total: 6.5 (Over -120/Under +100)
Best-of-7 series: Tied 2-2
Adjusted series odds: Maple Leafs -125/Lightning +105
Slap shots: Tampa Bay built a 5-0 lead after two periods in Game 4 on Sunday and cruised to a 7-3 victory as a -130 home favorite. The game easily cleared the 6.5-goal total, the third straight Over in this series.
Betting nuggets: All four games have been blowouts, extending a trend in which seven straight head-to-head meetings have been decided by multiple goals. The winner has tallied at least five goals in each outing, with the teams combining for a total of 55 goals (7.85 per game). … The Leafs are 16-4-2 dating back to March 27. … Tampa Bay is 9-4 in its last 13. … The teams have combined for 12 third-period goals in the last three contests. … Six of the last seven Lightning-Leafs battles have gone Over the total. The lone exception: Toronto’s 5-0 home win in Game 1. … The Over is also on overall runs of 11-2 for Tampa Bay and 12-4-5 for Toronto.
Prediction: Maple Leafs 6, Lightning 4
St. Louis Blues vs Minnesota Wild (Game 5)
Puck Drop/TV: 9:30 p.m. ET/ESPN
Moneyline: Wild -165/Blues +145
Puck line: Wild -1.5 (+165); Blues +1.5 (-195)
Total: 6.5 (Over -105/Under -115)
Best-of-7 series: Tied 2-2
Adjusted series odds: Wild -130/Blues +110
Slap shots: St. Louis evened the series with a 5-2 victory in Game 4 Sunday, cashing as a consensus -102 home underdog. The Blues broke open a 1-1 game with two goals 66 seconds apart midway through the second period. They then tacked on two goals in a 58-second span with less than two minutes to play to push the game Over the 6.5-goal total.
Betting nuggets: The first four games in this series have been decided by margins of 4, 4, 4 and 3 goals. … St. Louis is 7-2 in the last nine meetings with the Wild (including two overtime wins at home last month). … The Blues are16-4-2 dating to March 28, including 7-2 on the road. They’ve tallied at least four goals in 17 of their last 22 games, posting 12 multi-goal victories during this stretch. … The Wild are still 21-4-3 in their last 28 overall, including 15-2-1 at home and 15-3-1 as a favorite. … The total has alternated in every game of the series, but the Over is still 9-3 in the last 12 series battles and 5-1 in the last six meetings in Minnesota. Also, St. Louis is 22-8-1 to the Over in its last 31 overall.
Prediction: Wild 4, Blues 2
Los Angeles Kings vs Edmonton Oilers (Game 5)
Puck Drop/TV: 9:30 p.m. ET/ESPN 2
Moneyline: Oilers -210/Kings +180
Puck line: Oilers -1.5 (+120)/Kings +1.5 (-145)
Total: 6.5 (Over +100/Under -120)
Best-of-7 series: Tied 2-2
Adjusted series odds: Oilers -255/Kings +205
Slap shots: Los Angeles rallied from an ugly 8-2 home loss in Game 3 to post a 4-0 shutout in Sunday’s Game 4. The Kings, who were a +145 underdog, scored twice in the first period and twice late in the third. Goalie Jonathan Quick stopped all 31 shots he faced to keep the game Under the 6.5-goal total.
Betting nuggets: Two of the four games have been shutouts. That said, the winning team has found the back of the net at least four times in each contest. … After a 4-3 nailbiter in Game 1, the last three were decided by 6, 6 and 4 goals. … Edmonton is still on positive runs of 15-4-1 overall, 15-1-1 at home and 7-3 against the Kings. On the flip side, the Oilers are 4-13 in their last 17 playoff contests (4-9 as a favorite). … The Kings remain just 2-10 in the playoffs since winning the 2014 Stanley Cup. … The total has alternated in the last six Los Angeles-Edmonton tussles.
Prediction: Oilers 6, Kings 3
NHL Playoff Odds & Action Updates
Bruins vs Hurricanes
UPDATED 5:45 P.M. ET TUESDAY: About 90 minutes before puck drop, the Hurricanes have ticked down from -150 to -140 for Game 5 at DraftKings. Boston, however, has held steady at +140. Current betting splits on this contest show that Carolina is still drawing the vast majority of the action at 75% bets/82% money.
The total continues to sit at 6/Under -120, with 81% of all tickets and 77% of all dollars on the Over.
UPDATED 11:30 A.M. ET TUESDAY: DraftKings on Sunday afternoon installed Carolina as a -140 favorite on its Game 5 NHL playoff odds board. The Hurricanes then toggled between -140 and -145 several times through Monday, but the moneyline shot up to Carolina -150/Bruins +120 overnight and is holding there. As that line move suggests, the vast majority of DraftKings bettors are siding with the home team. The Canes are catching 69% of the tickets and 83% of the dough.
The total opened at 6/Under -120 before dipping to 5.5/Over -120 on Monday afternoon. However shortly after midnight ET, the total returned to 6/Under -120 and remains there now. With the first four games in the series flying Over the total, it’s no surprise to see the action tilted heavily in that direction at 83% bets/85% money.
Lightning vs Maple Leafs
UPDATED 5:45 P.M. ET TUESDAY: Toronto has risen from -130 to -135 on DraftKings’ NHL playoff odds board for Game 5. Tampa Bay has moved from +105 to +115. The Maple Leafs are now attracting 65% of the wages and 72% of the money.
The total has adjusted slightly from 6.5/Over -125 back to 6.5/Over -120. The ticket count is evened out significantly in the last several hours, with 54% on the Over. However, 85% of the cash remains on the Over.
UPDATED 11:30 A.M. ET TUESDAY: Toronto opened as a -130 favorite for Game 5 at DraftKings, but that number then twice adjusted downward to -125 and -120. The moneyline then jumped Maple Leafs -130/Lightning +105 in the wee hours today and has stuck there. Toronto is seeing 57% of the tickets and 60% of the dollars.
The total was installed at 6.5/Over -120 and is now 6.5/Over -125, with DK bettors hammering the Over to the tune of 84% wagers/91% cash.
Blues vs Wild
UPDATED 6 P.M. ET TUESDAY: Minnesota opened as a -140 home favorite for Game 5 at WynnBet on Sunday night. The moneyline then shot up to -150, -160 and -170 before receding back to the current price of Wild -165/Blues +145. A near-equal amount of action is on Minnesota, at 77.3% tickets and 77.7% cash.
The total at WynnBet opened at 6.5/Under -120, with subsequent juice adjustments ranging from 6.5 flat to the current number of 6.5/Under -115. Nearly every dollar (96.5%) is on the Over, as are 70% of the tickets.
UPDATED 11:30 A.M. ET TUESDAY: Minnesota on Sunday evening opened as a -150 home chalk in DraftKings’ Game 5 NHL playoff odds market, with St. Louis at +125. The moneyline then jumped as high as -160 and dipped as low as -140, with stops at -155, -150 and -145 along the way. It’s now sitting at Wild -145/Blues +125, with 65% of all wagers and 71% of the cash on the home team.
The total hasn’t budged from the opener of 6.5 flat, except for a very brief move to 6.5/Over -120 overnight Monday. Ticket count is split 50-50, but exactly two-thirds of the cash is on the Under.
Kings vs Oilers
UPDATED 6 P.M. ET TUESDAY: WynnBet installed the Oilers as a -210 favorite, with the Kings at +180 on the take-back. That moneyline has not moved, despite big-times lopsided action on Edmonton, which is seeing 90% of the bets and 93% of the dollars.
There have been a very slight juice adjustments from 6.5 flat to 6.5/Under -115 to the current price of 6.5/Under -120. WynnBet has seen lopsided cash on the Under (95%), but ticket count is running 59% on the Over.
UPDATED 11:30 A.M. ET TUESDAY: DraftKings opened Edmonton as a -210 home favorite for Game 5. That price initially dipped to -205 then shot up to between -215 and -230 before settling at the current price -225. The Kings are +190 on the take-back. Edmonton is seeing 71% of the moneyline tickets and 82% of the cash at DraftKings.
The total opened 6.5/Under -115, with the juice since varying between -115 and -120. It’s now at 6.5/Under -120. Ticket count (56%) and money (70%) favor the Over.
Note: Check back prior to puck drop for additional NHL playoff odds and action updates for all four of Tuesday’s games.
