Matchups And Best Bets Hockey April 14 15 16 17

NHL Odds And Lines

Stanley Cup Futures Now that the field and matchup have been set for the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, we’re seeing a flood of bets on our NHL futures. The +450 Cup favourite and President’s Trophy-winning Capitals are seeing plenty of action to take home the hardware, but Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers have seen the largest betting handle to win the Cup at +1000. Edmonton edges Washington in overall Stanley Cup futures handle followed by the Montreal Canadiens at +1100 and the Toronto Maple Leafs at +2000. The Leafs are easily the most popular Cinderella bet going, even though they are the biggest underdog on the board to even get out of the first round. We expect to see more action coming in on Chicago and Pittsburgh (both at +550 to win the Cup) sooner rather than later. Series betting The Capitals are set as -625 favourites to beat the +350 Leafs in the opening round, which is easily the biggest mismatch on the series odds board. The Blackhawks are -278 to get past the Nashville Predators, the Penguins are -200 to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Oilers are -200 to advance past the San Jose Sharks. By our series odds, the closest series on the board looks to be the Montreal Canadiens vs. the New York Rangers. Montreal owns home ice advantage and is currently at -175, with close to 70 percent of bets backing the Habs. Bettors are all over three Canadian teams to advance – Montreal, Edmonton, and Ottawa. The Sens are the most popular underdog series pick at +150 to end the Boston Bruins’ season. Playoff game totals and betting trends When you think of playoff hockey, you’re generally expecting and higher level of intensity, physicality, and defensive play, but that’s not always the case in the first round. Expect to see over/unders in these opening series to be very similar to those that you’d see in regular season play. As the playoffs progress, chances are you’ll see totals drop about O.5 goals per game on average. Lower totals, and more defensive hockey is surely coming, although it’d be a mistake to jump on that betting trend too early. Early action for all eight Game 1 matchups is split with four games seeing mostly over bets and four others seeing under wagers. Player props A word to the wise here – search for value with player props. Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby will be overpriced to score in every game they play in the playoffs because of their popularity. It’s much more profitable to know who is riding shotgun with superstars like these to find value there. You may find that players like Conor Sheary, Jake Guentzel, and Patrick Maroon are a worthwhile investment. Best Sportsbook For Canada (NO USA)