NHL Playoffs: Betting Playbook For Friday, May 20

NHL Betting Playbook for Friday

Friday's NHL trends are collected and ready to go for Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Let's take a look at what you should know before betting the NHL playoff games. 

One trend to note is that the BetQL NHL model has gone 83-68 (55%) on all NHL spread picks in the past 30 days for a total return of $1,191 on $100 bets, so you'll definitely want to know who the model is picking in these awesome second-round matchups. BetQL subscribers can see more betting trends and all of our best bets, including player props, with star ratings for every game!

The Hurricanes pulled one out of their hat for a Game 1 victory in overtime against the Rangers. Hilariously enough, many said that the Rangers pulled a Penguins by blowing the game, which is what Pittsburgh did against this New York team in the last round. Sebastian Aho tied the game in the third period at the 17:37 mark, and Ian Cole delivered the clincher in OT to take a 1-0 lead in the series. New York played better for a majority of the match. They dominated the first 40 minutes of the game, outshooting Carolina 22-14 at 5-on-5 and had an insane 77.74% edge in xGF%. Still, it's what you do in the end that counts, especially in a game like hockey, where you can win every stat battle in a game and still get blown out.

The good news for New York is that their superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin looked much better than he did against Pittsburgh in the first round. He allowed three or more goals in all but one game against the Penguins, so this was a major improvement for him. Unfortunately, Antti Raanta played just a wee bit better on the other end of the ice. Still, it has to be a positive development for the blue shirts going forward against the Hurricanes.

Carolina, meanwhile, continues to get the job done when they need to the most. Their clutch gene has been off the charts for these playoffs. After they got manhandled for the first 40 minutes of Game 1, they came out as the clear better team for the final 20 and OT. Raanta was outstanding for his play, especially in those first two periods when his team was asleep at the wheel. He’s given up just eight goals over his last four games, and for a backup goalie, that is spectacular. He's keeping the net safe for when starter Frederik Andersen returns, but will Carolina just keep riding the hot hand?

Well, the over was no sweat in that game now, was it? A 9-6 final score was all the needed to be said about this series, and I expect the scoring to continue throughout. Okay, so maybe not scores like in Game 1, but relatively higher scoring overall. The over is 14-6-1 in the last 21 meetings in Calgary between these two teams. Calgary is a heavy favorite to take Game 2, but you can never truly count out Connor McDavid and company, even if Edmonton's defense and goaltending are a disaster.

Matthew Tkachuk scored a hat trick as the Flames crushed the Oilers to take a 1-0 series lead. While the game was very high-scoring overall, there was a team that clearly outplayed the other, and I think you know who that was. Calgary outshot Edmonton 48-28 and had a 66.7 xGF% compared to Edmonton’s 33.3% XGF%. Subjectivity speaking, it should have been a slaughter, but both goaltenders were horrible Wednesday night.

Even though Calgary won the game and outplayed the Oilers, there was still no doubt as to who was the best player on the ice in Game 1. McDavid was once again spectacular with one goal and three assists, but it still wasn't enough. In fact, it's been a real challenge for the Oilers in these situations. Edmonton is 2-7 in their last nine games as a road underdog entering Game 2.