NHL Playoff First Round Best Bets:
Carolina Hurricanes (-170) vs Ottawa Senators (+145)
Game 1 – Saturday – 3 p.m. ET
The Ottawa Senators come into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the NHL, winning 16 of their final 25 games and going from six points out of a playoff spot coming out of the Olympic break to finishing in the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Despite being a Wild Card team, the Senators, along with the Buffalo Sabers, have the third-shortest odds to represent the Conference in the Cup Final. The Canes have made it out of the first round in all seven seasons under Rod Brind’Amour. I have in-pocket bets from the summer on Carolina to be eliminated in both the second round and conference final. I am considering hedging and playing the Senators to win the series and at least protect my investment.
I don’t see either side having a decided goaltending advantage. If I can find a prop on the total goalies used in the series at Over 3.5, I will grab it. The value is with Ottawa to win the series. Two player prop plays for me in the series are the Hurricanes Andrei Svechnikov and the Senators Drake Batherson to lead the series in goals. Svechnikov has five goals in nine regular-season games versus Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark and one goal in the only playoff game he faced Ullmark as a member of the Boston Bruins. Batherson has five goals in 11 games against Carolina goalie Freddie Andersen.
NHL Playoff First Round Best Bets:
Drake Batherson series goal leader (+700) – .15
Andrei Svechnikov series goal leader (+850) – .15
Ottawa Senators Money Line (+145) – .25
Dallas Stars (-118) vs Minnesota Wild (-102)
Game 1 – Saturday 5:30 p.m. ET
These two teams split their four meetings this season, with the home team winning all four games. The Wild are seeking their first playoff series win since 2015, and the acquisition of Quinn Hughes in a mid-season trade with Vancouver has turned this team into a legit contender.
On the Dallas side, the Stars are once again dealing with injuries to key players heading into the playoffs. Miro Heiskenen looks good to go as he was practicing on Friday with the top power play unit, but Roope Hintz is not expected back until at least game three.
Staying out of the penalty box is key to any playoff success, and this series features two of the best power plays in the league. Dallas finished second overall, and the Minnesota Wild were third. In their final meeting of the season, Dallas was able to escape with a 5-4 win despite giving up three power play goals to Minnesota. These two teams also rank in the top four when it comes to fewest goals allowed during the regular season, with Dallas finishing second and the Wild ranked fourth. Yet, three of their four head-to-head meetings had a combined seven or more goals. All four meetings saw Jake Oettinger and Filip Gustavsson as the starting goalies for their respective teams, and I would expect nothing to change for Game One on Saturday.
I can make a case for both the Stars and the Wild to win this series, and the pre-series odds pretty much have this as a coin flip. That being the case, I am going to go the safe route and look for a small profit and bet on the series to go six or seven games. One player prop I will go with is for Kirill Kaprizov to lead the series in goals. The Minnesota forward owns Jake Oettinger, scoring nine goals in the 12 games he has faced the Dallas netminder, including three goals in the four games this season. In last year’s first round loss to Vegas, Kaprizov was tied with teammate Matt Boldy for the series lead with five goals.
NHL Playoff First Round Best Bets:
Series to go 6 games (+195) – 1 unit
Series to go 7 games (+165) – 1 unit
Kirill Kaprizov to score the most goals in the series (+370) – .25
Pittsburgh Penguins (-170) vs Philadelphia Flyers (+140)
Game 1 – Saturday 8 p.m. ET
The talk heading into the 2025-26 season was Sidney Crosby needed to be traded to a playoff contender because the Penguins were the one team that didn’t have designs on making the postseason. Yet here they are going head-to-head with their instate rival, the Philadelphia Flyers.
For the Penguins, it’s their first trip back to the postseason since 2022, and the last time they won a playoff series was against the Flyers in 2018. The Flyers are returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. The teams split their four meetings this season, with the Flyers winning both their games in a shootout.
The big question for me when picking a series winner is, can the Penguins’ high-octane offense (ranked third in goals scored) outscore the Flyers, as they ranked 22nd in goals against. The Penguins scored 11 goals (5,6) in their two wins over the Flyers this season and have scored four goals or more in 38 of their 41 wins this season. The Flyers won 18 of their final 26 games to close out the regular season.
I give the edge in goaltending to the Flyers, as both Dan Vladar and Samuel Ersson have been better than Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs for the Penguins. Flyers rookie Porter Martone picked up 10 points in the final nine games of the season after finishing his college career at Michigan State. Owen Tippett led the Flyers with 28 goals in the regular season.
NHL Playoff First Round Best Bets:
Flyers to win the Series (+140) – .25
Owen Tippett leads the series in goals +900 – .10
Porter Martone leads the series in goals +2200 – .05
Porter Martone has more points than Anthony Mantha (-110) – .20
Colorado Avalanche (-530) vs Los Angeles Kings (+390)
Game 1 – Sunday 3 p.m. ET
I can’t remember the last time, if ever, we have had a favorite of (-500) or greater to win a playoff series, but that is what we have with the Avalanche taking on the Los Angeles Kings here in round one. The Avs 121 points were 31 more than the Kings 90 points. Even more telling was LA’s 22 regulation wins (Only Vancouver had fewer, with 15), which were 26 fewer than Colorado’s 48.
The Kings propensity on getting games to overtime this season has been well-documented (NHL record 32), but if past results are a predictor of future behavior, only one of the last 24 meetings has gone past regulation. Colorado won all three regular-season meetings against LA, outscoring the Kings 13-5. If the Kings are to pull off the miracle upset, they are going to have to win at least one game at Ball Arena in Denver, and they have lost each of their last four visits to Denver, outscored 18-5.
Here is how I will attack this series. I don’t see the Kings winning the series, and I don’t see them beating Colorado twice. You can play the Series to go Under 5.5 games (+116), or you can play the Avalanche to sweep the series (+470) or Colorado to win in five games (+210). I will be on the sweep and the series to go five games as opposed to playing the Under 5.5 games as if this ends in five, the return is essentially the same. Martin Necas led the Avs with four goals against the Kings in the three games this season.
NHL Playoff First Round Best Bets:
Colorado Avalanche to win in 4 games (+470) – 1 unit
Colorado Avalanche to win in 5 games (+210) – 1 unit
Martin Necas to lead the series in goals (+550) – .20}
Nathan MacKinnon to lead the series in goals (+210) – .20
Tampa Bay Lightning (-240) vs Montreal Canadiens (+205)
Game 1 – Sunday 5:45 p.m. ET
Talk about zero respect for the Montreal Canadiens, who finished tied in points with the Tampa Bay Lightning and split the season series with the Lightning, winning the final two head-to-head matchups, outscoring the Bolts, 6-2.
Here’s the thing with Tampa. I believe they have been playing possum for the past few weeks and focused more on extracting a pound of flesh from the opposition than winning hockey games. Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, the Lightning have had three consecutive playoff appearances that have resulted in first round exits. The last two seasons, they were dispatched by their in-state rival and eventual Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. Tampa finished the season with the fourth-best offense and number three in goals against. The Canadiens ranked seventh in scoring and 17th in goals allowed.
Andrei Vasilevskiy’s 39 wins led all goalies, and his 2.31 goals against average was second only to the Avs Scott Wedgewood. Juraj Slafkovsky led Montreal this season with four goals and seven points versus the Lightning this season. He has three goals in seven games versus Vasilevskiy. His four goals in the most recent Olympics were second only to Macklin Celebrini.
Give me Nikita Kucherov to score a point in every game. Kucherov picked up a point in three of the four games versus the Canadiens this season. When it comes to a series play, the value is with Montreal, but I will attack this series on a game-by-game basis when it comes to playing a side.
NHL Playoff First Round Best Bets:
Juraj Slafkovsky 3+ goals (+200) – .25
Juraj Slafkovsky will lead the series in goals (+1200) – .10
Nikita Kucherov 1 point in every game (+175) – .10
Buffalo Sabres (-178) vs Boston Bruins (+146)
Game 1 – Sunday 7:30 p.m. ET
KeyBank Center in Buffalo will be rocking on Sunday as the Buffalo Sabres will be hosting a Stanley Cup Playoff game for the first time in 15 years. The Bruins won three of the four meetings against Buffalo this season, but two of those wins came in three-on-three overtime.
If Boston wins this series, Jeremy Swayman is going to need to steal at least one game, if not two. Swayman’s 31 wins this season were tied for fourth amongst all goalies. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen rebounded from a disappointing 2024-25 season and cut his goals against by almost a half a goal from the season prior.
The Sabres are the deeper team, have the better blueline, but the Bruins have the experience. If you are looking to bet Buffalo, I would take the series spread of -1.5 games.
Tage Thompson led the Sabres with 40 goals and 272 shots on goal (seventh in the NHL). His 22 shots on goal in the four games this season versus the Bruins were a team high.
NHL Playoff First Round Best Bet:
Tage Thompson to lead the series in shots on goal (+170) – 1 unit
Series to go 5 games (+250) – .25 units
Series to go 6 games (+200) – .25 units
Vegas Golden Knights (-188) at Utah Mammoth (+155)
Game 1 – Sunday 10 p.m. ET
The Vegas Golden Knights closed out the season, going 7-0-1 under John Tortorella. The victories were largely built around non-playoff teams, but it did include a pair of wins over playoff teams on the road, downing the Oilers 5-1 and the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2 in overtime. Carter Hart has given the Knights stability between the pipes during the run under Torts and was a perfect 7-0-0.
The Mammoth closed out the regular season on a nice run of their own, winning six of their last eight games. Utah won two of the three meetings between the two teams this season, outscoring the Golden Knights 9-1 in the two victories. The Mammoth/Coyotes have won three of their past four trips to T-Mobile Arena. I am tossing aside the Mammoth’s regular-season success against the Golden Knights in this series, as I believe the playoff experience and solid goaltending from Carter Hart down the stretch prevail.
Mark Stone led Vegas in goals down the stretch, scoring five goals in the last six regular-season games. He tied his career high with 28 goals, the most he has had since the 2018-19 season when he was a member of the Ottawa Senators. Stone has also had some success in finding the back of the net against Utah starting goalie Karel Vejmelka, scoring three goals in the five games they have gone head-to-head.
NHL Playoff First Round Best Bets:
Vegas Golden Knights -1.5 games (+120) – .50
Mark Stone to lead the series in goals (+750) – .10
Edmonton Oilers (-240) at Anaheim Ducks (+195)
Game 1 – Monday 10 p.m. ET
The Anaheim Ducks are returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2018, but they do so with just two wins in the final 10 games, and they gave up four or more goals in eight of those 10 games. The Edmonton Oilers dropped four of their last six games, and three of those games they scored one goal or less.
I don’t see the Oilers offense going cold against the Ducks, who have had trouble both defending and keeping the puck out of their net. Edmonton scored four or more goals in all three games against Anaheim this season (winning two of three), and all three games had a combined six goals or more.
I like the Oilers to win the series, and I don’t envision it going the distance, so give me Edmonton -1.5 games (+100) as my play. When it comes to player props, I am going to hold off for now until we have clarity on Leon Draisaitl’s status.
NHL Playoff First Round Best Bets:
Oilers -1.5 games (+100) – 2 units
Stanley Cup Final Picks:
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Colorado Avalanche
Cup Winner: Colorado Avalanche (+340)
Conn Smythe Trophy winner (Playoffs MVP) – Nathan MacKinnon (+700)
