The Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers entered the postseason as the first and second choices, respectively, on the Stanley Cup championship futures board. While both squads advanced to the second round, only one is living up to the prognosticators’ NHL playoff odds expectations.
Fresh off an overtime victory in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series against the St. Louis Blues, the Avalanche will attempt to post their sixth straight win to start the postseason when they host St. Louis in Game 2 on Thursday night. Meanwhile, down in Miami, the Florida Panthers find themselves in a 0-1 series hole against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
Yes, the Panthers are a solid home favorite on the Game 2 NHL playoff odds board. However, this year’s President’s Trophy winner will hit the ice Thursday as an underdog in their best-of-7 series against their instate rivals.
Props.com breaks down NHL playoff odds and action for Thursday’s pair of Game 2 matchups from South Beach and the Mile High City.
Odds via DraftKings and updated as of 6:10 p.m. ET on May 19.
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Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers (Game 2)
Puck Drop/TV: 7 p.m. ET/TNT
Moneyline: Panthers -160/Lightning +140
Puckline: Panthers -1.5 (+155)/Lightning +1.5 (-180)
Total: 6.5 (Over/Under -110)
Best-of-7 series: Tampa Bay leads, 1-0.
Updated series odds: Tampa Bay -140/Florida +120
Game 1 recap: The Lightning overcame a 1-0 first-period deficit, scoring the final four goals in a 4-1 victory. Tampa Bay cashed as a consensus +135 underdog, and the game stayed Under the 6.5-goal total. Lightning forwards Corey Perry and Nikita Kucherov each had a goal and an assist, and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 33 of 34 shots.
Slap shots: Tampa Bay improved to 3-2 against the Panthers this season with the Game 1 victory. Still, Florida holds a 20-19 edge in goals scored. … Four of the five meetings have been decided by multiple goals. … The Panthers failed to score on all three power-play chances Tuesday. They’re now 0-for-21 with a man advantage this postseason after having the fifth-most prolific power play in the regular season. … The Lightning went 2-for-4 on the power play in Game 1, improving to 10-for-39 in the playoffs. … Florida is 5-6 since a 13-game winning streak from March 29-April 23. … The Panthers, who were the highest-scoring team in the regular season (4.11 goals per game), are averaging 3.0 goals through seven playoff games. … Tampa Bay has won three in a row and is 13-5 in its last 18 games dating to the regular season.
Betting Nuggets
- Tampa Bay is 25-5 in its last 30 conference semifinal games
- Tampa Bay is 12-3 in its last 15 playoff games as an underdog
- Florida is 44-16 in its last 60 overall and 48-12 in its last 60 at home
- Tampa Bay is 13-4 to the Over in its last 17 overall
- Florida is 5-2-3 to the Under in its last 10 at home
- Favorite is 23-9 in the last 32 Lightning-Panthers clashes
- Under is 5-2 in the last seven series meetings
- Over is 10-5-1 in the last 16 meetings in Florida (3-2 this season)
Game 2 prediction: Lightning 4, Panthers 2
St. Louis Blues vs Colorado Avalanche (Game 2)
Puck Drop/TV: 9:30 p.m. ET/TNT
Moneyline: Avalanche -245/Blues +195
Puckline: Avalanche -1.5 (+105)/Blues +1.5 (-125)
Total: 6.5 (Over -130/Under +110)
Best-of-7 series: Colorado leads, 1-0.
Updated series odds: Colorado -750/St. Louis +500
Game 1 recap: Defenseman Josh Manson ripped a slap shot past St. Louis goalie Jonathan Binnington eight minutes into overtime to give the Avalanche a 3-2 victory. Colorado cashed as a -220 home favorite, and the contest stayed Under the 6.5-goal total. Manson added an assist, and teammate Gabriel Landeskog (two assists) also had two points. Binnington stopped 51 of 54 shots.
Slap shots: Colorado, which ended the regular season in a 1-6 slump, improved to 5-0 in the playoffs with the Game 1 victory. Two of those wins were in overtime at home. … The Blues are 5-3 in the playoffs. They’ve scored five total goals in their three defeats (19 goals in the five victories). … The Avs are 7-1 in their last eight against St. Louis, including 3-1 this season. However, Colorado only has a 15-13 goal-scoring edge this season. … Prior to Tuesday, the winning team had tallied at least four goals in nine straight Avalanche-Blues meetings. … The Game 1 result ended a 6-0 Over streak in this rivalry. … The Blues took a 1-0 lead Tuesday with a first-period goal. They have scored first in four straight games and five of seven in the playoffs. … St. Louis is still 18-5-2 dating to March 28 and 11-3-1 in its last 15 road games. However, two of those road losses were at Colorado.
Betting Nuggets
- St. Louis is 8-3 in its last 11 as a road underdog
- St. Louis is 15-6 in its last 21 against Central Division rivals
- Colorado is 55-11 in its last 66 home games
- Colorado is 22-8 in its last 30 playoff games as a favorite
- Over is 22-10-1 in St. Louis’ last 33 overall and 13-3-1 in its last 17 on the road
- Over is 6-2 in Colorado’s last eight conference semifinal games
- The favorite is 37-14 in the last 51 series meetings
Prediction: Avalanche 4, Blues 2
NHL Playoffs Odds & Action Updates
Lightning vs Panthers
UPDATED 6:10 P.M. ET THURSDAY: Florida stretched out as far as a -180 favorite late Wednesday morning ET, then bounced between -170 and -175 for several hours. For the last 24 hours, though, the moneyline price has steadily receded. Roughly an hour before the start of Game 2, the Panthers currently listed as a -165 favorite on DraftKings’ NHL playoff odds board, with Tampa Bay at +145. The home team is seeing most of the action, with 68% of the wagers and 75% of the cash landing on Florida.
The puckline has shifted from an opener of Panthers (-1.5) +165/Lightning (+1.5) -195 to Panthers +155/Lighting -180. There’s a perfect split on the puckline action at DraftKings, with 61% of the bets on Tampa +1.5 goals and 61% of the money on Florida -1.5 goals.
The total hasn’t budged from the opener of 6.5. After a few juice moves to the Over, the total moved back to 6.5 flat (-110 both ways). However, moments ago, DraftKings adjusted to 6.5/Under -115. Ticket count (53%) and money (57%) leans to the Over.
UPDATED 8:10 P.M. ET WEDNESDAY: DraftKings’ NHL playoff odds board has Florida as a -160 favorite for Game 2, which is up from the opening moneyline price of -155 but down for the peak of -165. Tampa Bay is now +140, with split action of 72% bets on the Hurricanes and 59% of dollars on the Lightning.
The puckline opened Panthers (-1.5) +165/Lightning (+1.5) -195, but that number moved all the way to Panthers +140/Lightning -160 earlier this afternoon. It’s currently Panthers +150/Lightning -170, with ticket count (80% Tampa) running counter to the money (69% Florida).
The total opened and remains at 6.5, with juice adjustments from Over -120 to Over -115 back to the opener and now at Over -115 again. There’s two-way action here, too, with 67% of bets on the Under and 85% of cash on the Over.
Blues vs Avalanche
UPDATED 6:10 P.M. ET THURSDAY: Colorado’s close call in Game 1 hasn’t kept bettors from siding with the heavily favored Avs in Game 2. Colorado is now out to a peak -245 favorite for Game 2 in DraftKings’ NHL playoff odds market. The Blues are +195 on the take-back. Not only is money running nearly 4/1 on the Avalanche, but 86% of the tickets are on the host.
The puckline has been bouncing between Colorado (-1.5) +100/St. Louis (+1.5) -125 and Colorado +105/St. Louis -125. It’s currently priced at Avs +100/Blues -120, with 71% of the tickets and 87% of the cash on Colorado.
The total is pinned to 6.5/Over -130, with 55% of the wagers and 72% of the cash on the Over.
UPDATED 8:10 P.M. ET WEDNESDAY: Colorado opened as a -230 chalk for Game 2 in DraftKings’ NHL playoff odds market, and that number is holding steady. The Avalanche are seeing the bulk of the action at 88% wagers/76% money. The puckline has bounced from Avs (-1.5) +105/Blues (+1.5) -125 to Avs +100/Blues -120 and then returned opener. While only 58% of the tickets are on Colorado, the home team is taking 90% of the cash. There has been a slight juice adjustment on the 6.5-goal total, going from Over -120 to Over -130. Early action at DraftKings is split on the total, with 62% bets on the Under and 86% dough on the Over.
