NHL

NHL daily betting guide: Stanley Cup Playoffs odds, picks for May 2

Maple Leafs Lightning NHL odds
Feb 25, 2020; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) skates as Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (91) defends during the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs are finally here and with it begins the greatest postseason tournament in North American Sports (that’s a fact, not an opinion).

In total, 16 teams have made it to the first round with four Game 1’s on Monday and another four going down on Tuesday.

While the competition ramps up, the games get harder to bet on as parity in the NHL is incomparable to other postseasons — so if you have a real gut feeling when betting, go with it.

Remember, you don’t HAVE to bet on each game. We are giving you our best bets for every game, but if our analysis isn’t landing with you or you just don’t feel like a bet stands out, it’s fine to give that game a pass. There will always be more games to bet on.

New to betting? Read our Beginner’s Guide to Betting with a glossary of terms.

Check out all of our NHL playoff previews here.

NHL Odds and Schedule, May 2

Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes, 7 p.m. ET

The best defensive team in the NHL hosts Game 1 as the Hurricanes look to state an early claim as to why they can be Stanley Cup favorites. It won’t be easy, though, as the Bruins (fourth-best defense) play a similar bruising style of game that will replicate a heavyweight fight.

The Pick:

 

 

Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m.

The second game of the night is going to be the complete opposite of Hurricanes/Bruins. The Maple Leafs and Lightning both rank in the top-10 in goals scored per game this season while Toronto possesses the best power play in the NHL. Tampa, though, is looking for a third-straight Stanley Cup championship, and they have the pedigree to unnerve a Maple Leafs team that has been snakebitten in the postseason for decades. Their last playoff series win was 16 years ago and their last Stanley Cup win was 54 years ago.

The Pick:

 

 

St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild, 9:30 p.m.

Two of the three regular-season meetings between these Central Division rivals went to overtime and after finishing just four points apart, we could be in for a seven-game thriller here. Both the Blues and Wild are top-five scoring units, but Minnesota’s defense has experienced a major boost after acquiring Cup-winning goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at the trade deadline.

The Pick:

 

 

Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers, 10 p.m.

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers have only won a single playoff series in the last five years. Given the talent they have and the discrepancy against the low-scoring Kings, that should change this year. But the Kings still have some pieces of the team that won two Stanley Cups last decade, so it’ll be hard to completely count them out.

The Pick: