Imagine a playoff bracket in the NBA in which both of the 1- and 2-seeds in each conference were already out after the first round. One of the 3-seeds is gone as well. This means that teams like Golden State, Denver, Toronto, Milwaukee and Philadelphia are all at home. Can you guess how those playoffs would turn out? That’s how the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs went. The best team in the regular season is gone. Last year’s Stanley Cup champions are gone. All four division winners are gone. What’s left is a considerable amount of chaos, which makes life tough for the sports betting enthusiast. What can we expect to see now? Here are your top betting predictions.
Top Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Predictions for the Second Round
First Round Recap: 2019 #StanleyCup Playoffs ▪ Trio of Game 7s cap unprecedented First Round ▪ Cup wins few and far between for remaining contenders ▪ A look at standout performances for each winning team#NHLStats: https://t.co/VnK8kfXPhD pic.twitter.com/obnr7Fo9mF
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 25, 2019
Second Round Matchups
WC = Wild Card, C = Central, P = Pacific, A = Atlantic, M = MetropolitanWestern Conference
Dallas Stars (WC1) vs St. Louis Blues (C3)
In January, Dallas coach Jim Montgomery, in the middle of his first season, lamented the team’s “culture of mediocrity.” That came just weeks after the team’s CEO went off in a profanity-filled rant about the team’s two highest-paid players. St. Louis had the worst record in the league at 34 points, and head coach Mike Yeo was already gone. Now, St. Louis is the first team in league history to advance out of the first round of the playoffs after being in dead last when the calendar year began. And Dallas looked light-years ahead of the Central Division-winning Nashville Predators in their first-round series. The Stars have ramped back their high-tempo style, and now they play quick — but smart on defense. The Stars have the slightly better goaltender in Ben Bishop — and that’s why I have them winning. Dallas in six.
Colorado Avalanche (WC2) vs San Jose Sharks (P2)
San Jose swept the season series between these two teams — but Colorado had the much easier path through the first round, rolling over Calgary in five games, while San Jose needed seven games (and a bad major penalty call in Game 7) to get past Vegas. In their last four playoff meetings, the teams have split, although the Sharks have won the last two. Colorado has had more rest — but San Jose will have less rust. The Sharks had four 30+ goal scorers this season: Joe Pavelski, Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier and Evander Kane. Hertl and Logan Couture each tallied six goals in the first round; the next best tally in the league was two goals. Colorado is led by Nathan McKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog. Martin Jones was stellar in goal for San Jose — in the last three games, anyway, posting a combined .946 save percentage. Colorado goalie Philipp Grubauer posted a .939 save percentage through all five games in the series and a .956 save percentage in the last 14 games of the season, including three shutouts. With that goaltending advantage, I like the Avs to move on. Colorado in six.
Eastern Conference
Columbus Blue Jackets (WC2) vs Boston Bruins (A2)
Columbus is 11-1-0 in their last 12 going back to March 24…but the only team to beat them was the Boston Bruins, who delivered a 6-2 lesson on April 2. The teams met three times in al during the regular season, and each team won in a rout, and the Bruins won the third in overtime, prevailing 2-1. Boston has the trio of Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand piling up the chances, and Charlie Coyle scored three goals in the opening round. Columbus gambled big at the trade deadline, looking to win right now, and acquisition Matt Duchene put up seven points in the first-round sweep of the Lightning. Boston has the rock-solid Tuukka Rask in goal, with a .928 save percentage in the first round, but Columbus has Sergei Bobrovsky, who finally put together a solid postseason series, posting a .932 save percentage. I see Boston exploiting him, though. Boston in five.
Carolina Hurricanes (WC1) vs New York Islanders (M2)
The New York Islanders have won just two series now since 1993 and has been able to rests since April 16 for their matchup with the Hurricanes, who needed a rally and overtime in Game 7 to eliminate the Washington Capitals. Carolina’s best player has been Jordan Staal, who has six points in the first round and dealt out 10 hits in Game 3 alone. For New York, Jordan Eberle had five goals in the last seven games of the regular season and scored goals in each of the Islanders’ four wins over Pittsburgh. Carolina saw goalie Petr Mrazek stop 48 of 49 shots in Games 3 and 4 against Washington and then stop 34 more in Game 7. New York has Robin Lehner, who stopped 130 of 136 shots in four games against Pittsburgh. Can the Hurricanes turn around and muster enough energy for the rested Islanders? I say yes. Carolina in six.
