Going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, fans of the Boston Bruins had to feel pretty optimistic about their first-round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins have traditionally owned the Leafs in playoff matchups, and the B’s leapt out to 2-0 and 3-1 series leads. However, coach Jim Montgomery may be bungling yet another postseason opportunity. He shifted goalies for Game 3, leading to a loss, and now he’s calling out David Pastrnak, his star forward, after Pastrnak only notched two goals and four points in these six games. The team came out sluggishly in Game 6, getting outshot 12-1 in the first period and surrendering two goals int he second period. It was a goal with 0.1 seconds left in regulation that yielded the 2-1 score. The Leafs don’t have star forward Auston Matthews, but they are still outplaying a much better team. Some of the first-round series have ended, so let’s take a look at the second-round matchups we know about and the other remaining contenders as you consider your NHL Playoffs Betting for these matches.
Stanley Cup Playoff Second Round Matchups Bets for both Conferences you Can’t Miss | 2024 NHL Playoffs Betting
Western Conference
Edmonton Oilers vs Nashville/Vancouver winner (Vancouver leads, 3-2)
The Vancouver Canucks swept Edmonton in the season series, and Nashville comes in as a wild-card team. If the Predators can steal this series, they would have some emotional momentum, but they don’t really have the talent to make a deep run. The Oilers bounced the L.A. Kings and now get some time to rest. They match up much better against the Predators, but can they win two in a row, including a Game 7 in Canada?
Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas/Vegas winner (Dallas leads, 3-2)
The Stars had lost six games in a row to Vegas going into Game 3 of their first-round series, but now the Stars have won three in a row and have a chance to finish the series on the Strip on Friday night. The Avalanche are always a dangerous offensive team, as they showed in pouring the goals on Winnipeg in their five-game first-round win. When Dallas takes care of the puck and brings pressure, they are a hard team to beat. Vegas is the defending Stanley Cup champion, but their inconsistencies on the back end (and their questions in goal) are their biggest weaknesses.
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Eastern Conference
Florida Panthers vs Boston/Toronto winner (Series tied, 3-3)
The Panthers only needed five games to bounce the Tampa Bay Lightning out of the playoffs. If the Maple Leafs can get by Boston, that would give a young team all kinds of confidence. Boston sounds like they’ve already lost. If you need more motivation to get out of the gate with energy in Game 6 of a playoff series, as the Bruins indicated in post-game interviews, that’s definitely a problem. The Bruins have the better roster from front to back, but their mindset seems far from where it needs to be for them to lift the Cup.
N.Y. Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes
Both of these teams cruised in the first round as the Rangers swept the Washington Capitals and the Hurricanes ousted the N.Y. Islanders in five games. The Rangers won two of the three regular-season meetings with the Hurricanes and beat them in seven in the second round of the 2022 playoffs to get to the East Finals. Vincent Trocheck is with the Rangers now but was with the Hurricanes in that series and notched three golas against the Blueshirts. Carolina had a ton of scoring depth in their first-round series, with 12 different players lighting the lamp. Adding Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov at the trade deadline. Rangers in six.
2024 Stanley Cup Odds – Top 10
- Carolina Hurricanes +410
- Edmonton Oilers +460
- Florida Panthers +510
- Colorado Avalanche +580
- Dallas Stars +710
- New York Rangers +710
- Boston Bruins +1575
- Vancouver Canucks +2000
- Toronto Maple Leafs +2300
- Vegas Golden Knights +4300
- Nashville Predators +2300
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