Two days ago, the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames were favored on the NHL playoff odds board, yet found themselves facing deficits midway through Game 5 of their respective series. While New York was staring down the barrel of elimination, Florida and Calgary were staring at the bleak prospect of going down 3-2 in their best-of-7 matchups.
So what happened next? The Rangers, Panthers and Flames combined to outscore their opponents 11-1 the rest of the way. By the time the final horn sounded in each game, all three had a multi-goal victory.
While New York’s come-from-behind victory over the Penguins was a season-saver, Florida and Calgary pushed their two foes — the Capitals and Stars, respectively — to the brink of summer vacation.
What do these six squads have in store for an encore? Are we headed for a trio of Game 7s? A trio of postgame handshake lines? A mix of both? Props.com breaks down NHL playoff odds and action for each of Friday’s three Game 6 matchups
Odds via WynnBet and updated as of 12:25 p.m. ET on May 13.
Rangers vs. Penguins (Game 6)
Puck Drop/TV: 7 p.m. ET/TNT
Moneyline: Rangers -130/Penguins +110
Puckline: Rangers -1.5 (+175)/Penguins +1.5 (-210)
Total: 6 (Over -120/Under +100)
Series to date: Pittsburgh leads, 3-2
Adjusted series odds: Penguins -220/Rangers +180
Game 5 recap: In yet another wild game in what has been a wild series, the Rangers climbed out of a 2-0 deficit Wednesday, scoring five of the final six goals to post a season-saving 5-3 home victory. New York prevailed as a consensus -140 favorite. The teams combined for four goals in a three-minute span late in the second period to push Game 5 past the 6.5 total. The Over is 5-0 in the series.
Series slap shots: All five of New York’s goals Wednesday came after Pittsburgh star Sydney Crosby left following an on-ice collision midway through the second period. Crosby, who has two goals and seven assists in the series, is questionable for Game 6 with an undisclosed injury. … Since a 4-3, three-overtime thriller in Game 1, the last three contests have been decided by 3, 3, 5 and 2 goals. … The teams have combined for 42 goals in the series (8.4 per game), with at least seven scored in all five contests. … With the five-goal outburst in the middle period Wednesday, 22 of the series’ 42 goals have been tallied in the second period.
Betting Nuggets
- New York is just 2-9 in its last 11 postseason contests
- The Rangers have lost three straight road games since going 8-1 on the highway from March 12-April 21
- Pittsburgh is 6-1 in its last seven at home and 14-5 in its last 19 as a home underdog
- The host has won four straight in the series and 14 of the last 18 in this rivalry
- The Over is 6-0 in the Penguins’ last six and 7-0 in the Rangers’ last seven
- These teams have topped the total in six straight meetings, and the Over is 12-3-3 in the last 18 head-to-head battles in Pittsburgh
Prediction: Penguins 5, Rangers 3
Panthers vs Capitals (Game 6)
Puck Drop/TV: 7:30 p.m. ET/TBS
Moneyline: Panthers -170/Capitals +145
Puck line: Panthers -1.5 (+140)/Capitals +1.5 (-160)
Total: 7 (Over +115/Under -135)
Series to date: Florida leads, 3-2
Adjusted series odds: Panthers -900/Capitals +600
Game 5 recap: Florida trailed 3-0 less than four minutes into the second period Wednesday, then stormed back to score the final five goals. The last tally — an empty netter by Claude Giroux with 4:05 left on the clock — gave the Panthers a 5-3 home victory as a consensus -233 moneyline favorite. The game soared Over the 6.5-goal total.
Series slap shots: Four of the five games have been decided by multiple goals. The lone exception was Florida’s 3-2 Game 4 overtime win in Washington. … The team that scored the first goal has lost the last three contests. … Wednesday’s result ended a stretch in which the teams alternated wins and losses in eight consecutive meetings. … Florida, which had the fifth-best power play in the regular season, is 0-for-14 with a man advantage. … Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe has scored two goals in each of the last two games. He has five goals and five assists in the series. … Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie has goals in three straight games (four total). He’s tallied seven points in the series (five goals, two assists).
Betting Nuggets
- The home team is 6-2 in eight Capitals-Panthers battles this season
- Washington is 2-7 in its last nine games (one overtime loss)
- The Capitals are 20-17-6 at home this year (26-12-6 on the road)
- Florida is 20-8 in its last 28 road games
- The Over is 10-3 in the last 13 head-to-head meetings (5-1 in the last six at Washington). However, all three Unders occurred in this series
Prediction: Panthers 4, Capitals 2
Flames vs Stars (Game 6)
Puck Drop/TV: 9:30 p.m. ET/TNT
Moneyline: Flames -160/Stars +140
Puck line: Flames -1.5 (+155)/Stars +1.5 (-180)
Total: 5.5 (Over +115/Under -135)
Series to date: Calgary leads, 3-2
Adjusted series odds: Flames -750/Stars +500
Game 5 recap: Trailing 1-0 at home with a little more than 13 minutes to play, Calgary scored three unanswered goals — including an empty-netter with 58 seconds remaining — to pull out a 3-1 victory Wednesday as a consensus -220 favorite. The game fell well short of the 5.5-goal total, bringing the Under to 4-1 in the series.
Series slap shots: The teams have combined for just 18 goals (Calgary 10, Dallas 8). Since the Flames won 1-0 in Game 1 on a first-period goal, 10 of the last 17 goals have been scored in the third period. … The last four contests were decided by multiple goals, and there was an empty-net goal scored in each. … The teams traded shutouts in the first four games. Since then, the losing team has put up goal totals of 2, 1, 1 and 1.
Betting Nuggets
- Calgary now has a 5-3 edge in the season series.
- The favorite is on an 8-3 roll in this rivalry
- Dallas is 5-2 in its last seven at home
- The Flames are 1-3 in their last four on the road following a 7-0-1 surge as a visitor
- Calgary is 5-2 in its last seven playoff games as a favorite (both losses in this series)
- The Stars have scored two goals or fewer in 10 of their last 14 games
- The Flames have scored more goals in their last two games (seven) then they did in their previous five outings combined (six)
- For Calgary, the Under is on runs of 6-1 overall and 7-3 on the road. The Under is also 7-3 in Dallas’ last 10 at home
- The Over was on a 3-0-1 upswing in this rivalry before this series
Prediction: Flames 2, Stars 1
NHL Playoff Odds & Action
Rangers vs Penguins
UPDATE 6:30 P.M. ET: Thirty minutes before puck drop, New York is a -130 favorite in WynnBet’s Friday NHL playoff odds market. That matches the opening moneyline, although the Rangers dipped as low as -120 this morning, before quickly rebounding to the current price. Pittsburgh is a +110 home underdog. It’s near-perfect two-way action at WynnBet, where 51% of bets are on the Rangers and 53% of money is on the Penguins.
The total opened at 6 flat, then reached 6 (Over -130) about an hour ago, and WynnBet just moved to 6.5 flat. Ticket count is 5/1 and money 7/1 on the Over.
UPDATE 12:25 P.M. ET: Despite trailing 3-2 in the series and being on the road, New York actually opened as a -135 favorite early Thursday on DraftKings’ NHL playoff odds board. By midday, the moneyline dipped to Rangers -125/Penguins +105. That line dropped again to Rangers -115/Penguins -105, but it’s now back out to Rangers -130/Penguins +110. The action is split at DraftKings, with 66% of early wagers on New York and 59% of early cash on Pittsburgh.
The total opened at 6 (Over -130) before jumping to 6.5 (Under -120). It has since twice bounced between 6 and 6.5, with the current price at 6 (Over -120). Not surprisingly, bettors expect another high-scoring contest, as 82% of all wagers and 84% of all dollars are on the Over.
Panthers vs Capitals
UPDATE 6:30 P.M. ET: An hour before faceoff, Florida is down to -160 at WynnBet, after opening a -185 chalk. The Panthers are netting 55% of moneyline bets, while the Capitals (+140) are taking 66% of money. The total opened at 6.5 (Over -125) and has seen only juice adjustments, briefly dipping to Over -120 before stretching to Over -135. It’s now 6.5 (Over -130), with 84% of bets and practically every dollar on the Over.
UPDATE 12:25 P.M. ET: Florida hit DraftKings’ NHL playoff odds board as a -180 road favorite for Game 6. Except for a brief trip to -185 last night, the number held firm until this morning, when it fell to Panthers -170/Capitals +145, before ticking up to Panthers -175/Capitals +150 moments ago. Like Rangers-Penguins, this Game 6 moneyline is seeing solid two-way action, with 57% of early bets on Florida, and 53% of early on Washington.
The total opened at 6.5 (Over -115) and was followed by two juice adjustments to Over -125 and Over -130. Then about a half-hour ago, the total jumped to 7 — the first time this postseason a 7 has flashed on the NHL playoffs odds board. As you would expect, ticket count (74%) and dollars (90%) are heavy on the Over.
Flames vs Stars
UPDATE 6:30 P.M. ET: The Flames-Stars moneyline hasn’t budged at WynnBet, with Calgary opening and sticking at -160 and the Dallas +140 on the take-back. Ticket count is almost 2/1 and money 3/2 on the Flames. The total opened at 5.5 (Under -135) and also hasn’t moved, with tickets and money in the 2/1 range on the Under.
UPDATE 12:25 P.M.: The Flames opened and remain a -160 road chalk at DraftKings for Game 6, though that number did ping between -150 and -170 in the last 24 hours. Bettors are backing the visitor in this one, as 62% of early moneyline wagers and 63% of early moneyline dough is on Calgary.
The total hit the NHL playoff odds board at 5.5 (Under -130). The juice has moved as far as Under -140/Over +120, but is now at 5.5 Under -135/Over +115. Action leans to the Under, at 65% bets/66% cash.
Check back prior to puck drop for additional NHL playoff odds and action updates.
