Good luck to the four teams playing tonight in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, something tells me last night’s crazy card will be tough to follow up.
At any rate, there’s a pair of Game 2’s ahead this evening starting with the Battle of Florida from Sunrise. Tampa took the series opener 4-1 in decisive fashion on Tuesday night. Meantime, St. Louis visits Colorado. That first game was a lot closer; Josh Manson potted the OT winner to give Colorado the 3-2 victory.
Now to some prop bets to consider:
PROP #1: Aleksander Barkov Over 3.5 SOG (+115) - DK
Not to bust out every cliché in the book but tonight’s an important one for the Panthers, especially considering it’s on home ice. While Barkov was held pointless in Florida’s Game 1 loss, he did manage to register five shots on goal. Furthermore, the Cats captain has now tallied 27 shots through eight outings. He’s cleared the 3.5 mark in six of those eight. With the plus-money offering, it’s a no-brainer to take a flier on this shot prop tonight.
PROP #2: Nikita Kucherov Over 0.5 Assists (-120) - DK
Death, taxes, and Nikita Kucherov putting up numbers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 2019 Hart Trophy winner was a monster on Tuesday night notching one goal and one assist. But seriously, have they located Aaron Ekblad’s jockstrap yet? Even though he was quiet – by his standards – in Round 1, Kucherov is now up to 10 points in eight playoff games this season; seven of those 10 were helpers. The Russian is a pass first guy, so it’s always a decent play to look at his assist prop.
PROP #3: Nathan MacKinnon Over 4.5 SOG (-145) + Devon Toews Over 2.5 SOG (-113)
Until this gets insanely juiced or priced, it would be foolish to not keep hammering the MacKinnon shot prop. The superstar centre mustered eight shots and 12 shot attempts in Game 1. If you’re keeping score at home, he’s now up to 37 shots on goal and 56 shot attempts through five playoff games. The 26-year-old is averaging 7.4 shots per game. In some instances, I’ve seen the number up to 5.5 now. For what it’s worth, I’d still do it.
It seems like MacKinnon’s eagerness to fire the puck is rubbing off on his teammates, namely Devon Toews. The former Isles blueliner had four shots on Tuesday night and has cleared the 2.5 number in all five of Colorado’s playoff games. Do it up.
PROP #4: Jordan Binnington Over 31.5 Saves (-125) - DK
Simply put, the only way this probably doesn’t hit tonight is if Binnington gets chased from the St. Louis net. And considering how good Colorado is, that’s always a possibility. That said, the juice is certainly worth the squeeze here considering how good Binnington has looked since entering versus Minnesota. On top of that, the 28-year-old has a sparkling postseason track record that speaks for itself. Binnington made 51 stops in Game 1.
PROP #5: Pavel Buchnevich Anytime Goal (+325)
Admittedly, this one’s a prayer prop, but if you’re feeling frisky, I think it’s worth your consideration. Buchnevich potted 30 in 73 in the regular season, he’s goalless through seven contests in the playoffs. Moral of the story: He’s extremely due.
Betting odds sourced from both the Bet365 Sportsbook & also the DraftKings Sportsbook as of Thursday afternoon.
