We’ve barely had time to catch our breaths from an amazing opening round in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but here we are getting ready for Round 2. There are 4 series set to go in this round, with 2 games coming every single night until we get down to the final 4. As strange as it seems, getting picks correct over the course of a series can be tough, but we are going to do our best to make the best picks for every single game. Some may be straight up win selections, whole others will be for the goal total. The second round begins on Tuesday night, so let’s look at those games, plus the 2 games on Wednesday so you can bet against their NHL Playoffs Odds.
Playoffs Second Round Games to Bet On May 17 & 18 | NHL Betting Picks
Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers – Game 1 – Tuesday
Game 1 of any series is always a little tougher to predict, as you never really know how either team is going to come out. You do have to wonder of there might be a little let down from the Lightning after winning an emotional Game 7 in the opening round. This is a series that delivered a lot of goals in the regular season, but things do tend to tighten up a little in the playoffs. These two teams split the regular season series, so I would not be surprised to see this one go the distance. I do like the Panthers to get the Game 1 win on home ice.
St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche – Game 1 – Tuesday
If you watched the opening round of the NHL playoffs, you are already well aware that the Avalanche very much looked like the team to beat They blow past the Nashville Predators without breaking too much of a sweat and are a heavy favorite to win this series. The Avalanche took 2 of 3 from the Blues in the regular season, but the games were all rather close, so this might be a tougher road for the favorites. For this one, I am tempted to go with the OVER, as that is the way things have gone in 13 of the last 16 games the Blues have played on the road.
New York Rangers at Carolina Panthers – Game 1 – Wednesday
If you look at the regular season series between these two teams, you see that it was the road team that won in 3 of the 4 games. That said, it was the Hurricanes who took the regular season series by winning 3 of 4. All but one of those games delivered a lot of goals, which has me looking at the OVER here. 5 ½ goals looks like a bit of a bargain to me in Game 1, but I might also be willing to take a go on the Rangers to win on the road.
Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames – Game 1 – Wednesday
We all love to see a series where there is a big rivalry involved, and in terms of the NHL, they don’t come much bigger than the Battle of Alberta. During the regular season, these teams split the 4 games, while delivering a ton of offense. The automatic thought here is to go with the OVER, but as we saw in the opening round, the Flames got great goaltending and were tough to break down on defense. I’m holding off on the total and taking Calgary to win Game 1.
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