Steve Starr
- BetOnline has updated NHL Series Props for Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs
- The Tampa Bay Lightning are favored to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes in six games (+325) after securing a 2-1 road victory in Game 1
- Colorado is expected to win their second-round series in five games (+275) after burying the Golden Knights 7-1 on Sunday night
While the Canadiens and Leafs just finished up their first-round series last night with a thrilling Game 7, the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is already underway outside the all-Canadian North division.
Today, we’ll look at the latest series odds for the Tampa Bay-Carolina and Vegas-Colorado tilts after the Lightning and Avalanche opened their respective battles with victories on Sunday. You can also check out our NHL betting tips page for advice on how to wager on hockey.
Tampa Bay vs Carolina Series Result
 |
|
| Tampa Bay 4-2 | +325 |
| Tampa Bay 4-1 | +350 |
| Carolina 4-3 | +475 |
| Tampa Bay 4-0 | +500 |
| Tampa Bay 4-3 | +500 |
| Carolina 4-2 | +750 |
| Carolina 4-1 | +1600 |
Lightning strike first
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 37 saves for the Lightning in a 2-1 road win over Carolina on Sunday. Before dropping Game 1, the top-seeded Hurricanes were 20-3-5 at PNC Arena in the regular season – including 3-1 against Tampa – and a perfect 3-0 in Round 1.
That suggests the Canes can rebound on Tuesday night if they continue to get outstanding goaltending from Alex Nedeljkovic, who stopped 28 of 30 shots on Sunday. However, teams that win Game 1 are 495-224 (68.8 percent) winning a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoffs series, including 5-2 in the first round this season.
Barclay Goodrow scored the tie-breaking goal in the third period to lift the Lightning to a 2-1 win against the Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Second Round.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 37 saves for Tampa Bay.https://t.co/K0MHneaU2A
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) May 30, 2021
Right now, the Bolts are favored to win in either 6 games (+325) or 5 games (+350) – but if you think a storm is brewing down south, you can get the Central’s No. 1 seed to defeat the reigning Cup champs in seven at almost 5-to-1 odds (+475) or in six games at +750.
With superior goaltending and a healthy Nikita Kucherov, we like the Lightning to advance to the Conference Finals in six games at +325.
Colorado vs Vegas Series Result
|
|
| Colorado 4-1 | +240 |
| Colorado 4-2 | +375 |
| Colorado 4-0 | +425 |
| Colorado 4-3 | +425 |
| Vegas 4-3 | +750 |
| Vegas 4-2 | +900 |
| Vegas 4-1 | +2500 |
Vegas buried by Avalanche in Game 1
Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer decided to rest Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 1 against the Avalanche with his 36-year-old netminder coming off a stretch where he played seven games in 14 days. However, that did not appear like the optimal strategy on Sunday night, with Colorado shelling back-up Robin Lehner for seven goals on 37 shots.
The question now is if “Flower” will actually make a difference when the series resumes on Wednesday night? Fleury did shut out Colorado twice in the regular season and he was incredible in Vegas’ first-round series triumph versus the Wild, with a 1.71 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.
The Avalanche are so damn good. pic.twitter.com/EB9ew3YeHu
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 31, 2021
Oddsmakers favor the Avs to polish off the Knights in five (+240), despite Vegas winning 40 games and tying the Presidential Trophy winners in points during the regular season. Vegas is viewed as a longshot to take the series in seven (+750) or even six games (+900) but that ignores the fact they had just wrapped up a hard-fought seven-game series with Minnesota on Friday before having to play in Colorado on only one day’s rest.
While their failure to close out the Wild in five or six games will ultimately doom them, we like the Golden Knights to show some pride and secure two wins. Look for Colorado to close out their West division rivals in six games (+375).
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