This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
Stanley Cup Playoffs: Western Conference Betting Preview (Second Round)
Now that the doozy of a Stars-Golden Knights series wrapped up with a nail-biting Game 7 win for Dallas, we look ahead to the Second Round. We'll kick things off Tuesday night when the Avalanche head into Dallas to take on the Stars for their first game, and then the Oilers will travel to Vancouver for Game 1 with the Canucks Wednesday.
We'll sift through the matchups and identify the best bets and player props to hammer as we gear up for an exciting slate of NHL playoff action! Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Check in on the updated Western Conference odds and Stanley Cup odds here at RotoWire.
Get in on the NHL playoff excitement at DraftKings with the DraftKings promo code for a Bet $5, Get $150 offer. If you're in North Carolina, the DraftKings North Carolina offer is good for $200 in bonus bets off of a $5 first bet with NC standing as the newest state to launch online sports betting.
NHL Odds: Western Conference Champion
- Edmonton Oilers
(+180) - Dallas Stars
(+240)) - Colorado Avalanche
(+260) - Vancouver Canucks
(+650)
Avalanche versus Stars
Either of these teams could win the Stanley Cup this year, in my opinion, but their road to get there doesn't get much harder than in Round Two.
Colorado dispatched the Jets in five games with relative ease, outsourcing them 28-15. The big dogs of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen are all in full dominant form, with all three in the Top 5 for all playoff scorers right now. The Avs are getting a ton of help from their depth too, especially from Artturi Lehkonen who potted eight points in the first round and Valeri Nischuskin who got seven. They've got the defensive depth to hang with Dallas' top guns too, but ultimately this series may come down to goaltending.
Alexandar Georgiev looked shaky at times in the first round and had less-than-stellar stats through the regular season. Dallas definitely has the edge in net with Jake Oettinger who posted a 1.95 GAA and .925 save percentage against the defending Cup champion Golden Knights in Round One.
That was a tough series for the Stars too. They dropped the first two games at home only to rally back to win a long, hard-nosed seven-game series. Wyatt Johnston stepped up to lead all scorers on the Dallas bench in a series that didn't have much scoring. The Stars finished first in the West in the regular season and undoubtedly have the firepower to match the vaunted Avalanche attack, especially with guys like Chris Tanev, Miro Heiskanen, and Thomas Harley on the back end.
It wouldn't surprise me if the winner of this series wins the Cup, but I think there will be an arduous battle to get through this one.
Series Winner: Avalanche (+100)
Series Total Games: 7 Games (+200)
Series Player Specials - Wyatt Johnston to record 25+ shots on goal in series (+200)
Find the best odds on NHL player props at RotoWire with an extensive catalog of props available across the leading sports betting sites.
Oilers versus Canucks
It's been a Cinderella season for the Canucks. Not many people expected them to make the playoffs, let alone win a series like they did by beating the Predators in six games. Rick Tocchet is up for the Jack Adams for the work he did this year as the Canucks almost went wire-to-wire atop the Pacific Division, winning the division banner for the first time since 2013.
J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, Thatcher Demko, and Elias Lindholm all went to the All-Star game. Depth players like Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland showed up big-time in the Nashville series. Arturs Silovs literally came out of nowhere as the third-string netminder to steal the first round. There's a definite buzz about this team. But… it's Edmonton's time.
The Oilers have been the best team in the league since they made a coaching change, and the Kings matchup in the first round was definitely tougher than this one. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are playing like the once-in-a-generation talents that they are. Zach Hyman is almost scoring at will in front of the net. Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are providing secondary star status, and then the depth is anchored by tough playoff performers like Mattias Ekholm and Evander Kane. Stuart Skinner proved that he's a reliable option in net during the first round too, so this series is definitely Edmonton's to lose.
Series Spread: Oilers -1.5 games (-140)
Total Shutouts: One (+165)
Most Points (Series): Leon Draisaitl (+425)
