Top NHL Betting Predictions for the Second Round of the 2018 Playoffs

With the elimination of the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs has come to an end. In the Eastern Conference, the Tampa Bay Lightning will square off with the Boston Bruins in one semifinal round, while the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins meet for the third straight year in the playoffs in the other semifinal. In the Western Conference, the Vegas Golden Knights put their perfect franchise postseason record on the line against the San Jose Sharks in one semifinal, while the Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets meet in the other series. Let’s take a look at some NHL betting insights for each series.

Top NHL Betting Predictions for the Second Round

Here is the full Second Round schedule.#StanleyCup https://t.co/KrgiJ5YJSg

— NHL (@NHL) April 26, 2018

Nashville Predators vs Winnipeg Jets

Nashville won the Central Division title, while Winnipeg settled for runner-up in the division. The Jets may be the most under-the-radar contender left in these playoffs — they don’t play near a major American or Canadian media market, so you have to be a real NHL fan to have heard of Connor Hellebuyck. He’s the goaltender who posted a .924 save percentage in the first round against the Minnesota Wild, including shutouts in the last two games of the series. The Predators still have an elite goaltender in Pekka Rinne, but he had some hiccups in the series against Colorado, posting just a .909 save percentage. However, the Predators have the sort of stifling defense that can shut down the high-flying Winnipeg offense. The Predators have a reputation for being a defense-first team, but that shortchanges their offensive depth, which they showed against the Avalanche and have shown all year. NHL Betting Prediction: Nashville in seven.

Vegas Golden Knights vs San Jose Sharks

Vegas is a team with no big names among their skaters, but they have a goaltender in Marc-Andre Fleury who has a Stanley Cup-sized chip on his shoulder after leading the Pittsburgh Penguins deep into the postseason last year, only to get replaced when Matt Murray returned from injury. Despite that lack of star presence on the roster, Vegas is a quick team that can turn opponent mistakes into goals in a hurry. They face a San Jose team that also has an ambitious goalie in net, in the person of Martin Jones. A lot of people are impressed (including me) by the Golden Knights’ sweep of Los Angeles, but if you haven’t looked at parts of San Jose’s easy sweep of Anaheim, you need to check them out. They are a scary-fast team that pounces on mistakes and are terrific at tape-to-tape passing. NHL Betting Prediction: Sharks in six

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Boston Bruins

Tampa Bay once again showed offensive firepower and defensive balance — but they really tailed of in the last third of the regular season. They held on to win their division, but they had a much easier foe in the first round in the New Jersey Devils. Boston needed seven games to dispatch the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that was a young, hungry team that had a lot more speed than New Jersey. Boston showed the ability to elevate their game in the face of a real challenge — a challenge that will prepare them for the series against the Lightning. NHL Betting Prediction: Bruins in six

Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Washington flipped a switch after Game Two against Columbus and reeled off four straight wins. Braden Holtby found his front-line goaltending form and put it on display, and John Carlson has been skating circles around the opposition. Don’t forget Alex Ovechkin, either. So why wouldn’t we like the red-hot Capitals to steamroll a defensively challenged Pittsburgh squad? Well…Pittsburgh does have Evgeni Lakin and Carl Hagelin on the shelf. The Penguins did get rid of the Philadelphia Flyers in six games, but they showed plenty of holes on defense and in net, as Matt Murray didn’t show the same form he did in last year’s Stanley Cup Finals. Murray’s form has been average at best in this year. But the Penguins own the Capitals — they’ve knocked them out in each of the last two postseasons and have won nine straight playoff series. Until the Caps knock this monkey off their backs, I’m picking Pittsburgh. NHL Betting Prediction: Penguins in six