If the first installment of our betting guide menu tickled your fancy and got you going — we’re stoked!
At the very least, we’re just trying to introduce you to a new part of the game and are just getting started.
You see most of the wagers out there are strictly team-centric. Will team A beat team B? Will team A beat team B by X amount of goals? Yada yada. Now let’s take things up a notch!
GET OVER IT
Earlier this week we talked money line and the simplicity of the most common form of sports betting. Today we’re talking over-under and how the allure of the over consumes every playoff hypothetical.
Every post-season, shot counts go up. With that in mind, you’re not alone thinking about the tantalizingly aggressive over for goals. To think like a bettor, though, you must go with your head and not your heart. So let’s look closer at the Montreal-Toronto series.
The first game gave us very little in terms of production with a measly 2-1 final. Looking at the trends, though, the Habs are 18-4-4 smacking the under through their last 26 post-season matchups coming in as an underdog. Meanwhile, Toronto has gone 3-1-1 hitting the under through their last five on one day’s rest.
Just a little something to think about while you browse the over-under menu for Game 2.
PROP LIKE IT’S HOT
Sticking with the second game of the Leafs-Habs series, we find ourselves perusing the game props and finding the Margin of Victory menu. Here you can find a wide range of possibilities for the final score that comes with a pretty decent payout.
Gauging the numbers, the Leafs won the season series over the Canadiens seven games to three and also put up a goal tally of 37 to Montreal’s 22. All the while the Leafs won those seven games by an average of 1.3 goals.
Now, with that in mind, if you want to play it by what it says on paper, taking Toronto to win by one in regulation is currently paying +600 while a two-goal Leafs win pays +625.
Speaking of win margins, you can also always opt for the overtime route, too.
Let’s take a closer look at the Florida Panthers-Tampa Bay Lightning series. Their first game was decided by a goal that came at 18:46 of the third. The 3-1 clincher in their second tilt had to wait until 18:35 of the third, while Game 3 of the series went to OT.
These two teams have kept things tight all year and the playoffs have been no different.
Another OT game in the all-Florida series will net a sweet +310 pot as well. Just a little something extra to the think about.
PICKING PLAYER PROPS
We combed the Internet for you and found an absolute rich and loaded bank of player props, too. Not only can you pick if each player listed will get a point, but you can also bet against them hitting the scoresheet as well.
One would have to think after going scoreless despite throwing a combined 13 shots at Carey Price that Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner should make a little noise in Game 2. However, the guys with the best-paying odds always stand out on the underdogs clubs. In other words, the second, third and fourth liners.
One thing you can generally be sure of is goals from playoff underdogs don’t always come from the likely sources. Paul Byron looking like a young Pavel Bure was case in point of that on Wednesday night with his game-winner.
Do a little digging, do a little homework, but don’t be scared of the lesser knowns in the post-season. If history has taught us anything, the most unlikely guy could be a playoff hero on any given night.
