NHL Playoffs: Betting Playbook For Thursday, May 19

NHL Betting Playbook for Thursday

Thursday'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 85-70 (55%) on all NHL spread picks in the past 30 days for a total return of $1,485 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!

Game 1 went to the defending cup champions by a score of 4-1. Florida actually scored first in the game, and Tampa Bay tied it up at 1-1 going into the third period. Then, BOOM, the Lightning exploded for three goals in the period to take victory on the road. The two teams tied the regular season series 2-2, so I think we could be in for an incredible series with plenty of ups and downs for both teams. Game 2 should feature a closer game, with Florida as the -160 home favorites.

Tampa Bay was able to take advantage of some poor Florida goaltending and defense late to capture the win in Game 1. Even though these two teams split the regular season series, Tampa Bay is 4-2 straight up in its last six games against Florida overall. The Panthers may have won the Presidents Trophy, but the Lightning have won back-to-back slightly more important trophies. Goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy was pretty awful in round one against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but was great in the Game 7 clincher in round 1, and also stood his ground well against Florida in Game 1 of this series. The total has hit the over in 13 of Tampa Bay's last 17 games, but Vasilevskiy has been improving slowly but steadily.

As for the Panthers, they simply need to start playing like they did in the regular season. Their offense has seemingly disappeared from the insane unit it was all year long. They were outplayed quite a lot against the Washington Capitals in the first round, and they cannot afford that to happen against a team like Tampa Bay. They lost Game 1 at home, but if they are going to win this series, they need to play well here. Florida is 13-3 straight up in its last 16 home games, so taking another L at home could be the end of the line. The total has hit the under in five of Florida's last seven games against Tampa Bay, mostly because Vasilevskiy has been a wall against them.

Game 1 of this series was far more competitive than most of us expected it to be. St. Louis had been an absolute disaster against Colorado in recent years, and the Avalanche are a powerhouse of a team that ran through their round 1 opponent like they were Swiss cheese. Instead, we got a very close game that ended with a Colorado 3-2 victory on home ice. As someone who had the over 1.5 goals in the first period, I was extremely dissatisfied with the outcome of the total. The Avalanche are massive -230 favorites at home in Game 2, but perhaps the Blues showed that they can hang after Game 1?

As I mentioned before, the Blues have had a very tough time beating the Avalanche recently. St. Louis is 1-7 straight up in its last eight games against Colorado, and quite a few of those games have been complete blowouts. Curiously enough, the one win came this regular season IN Colorado. They played their hearts out in the first game and did have a 1-0 lead after the first period, but it takes quite the effort to defeat the Avalanche, much less to defeat them in a 7-game series. The Blues did take down the higher-seeded Minnesota Wild in round 1, so it isn't impossible they make this a good series. The total has hit the over in 13 of St. Louis' last 17 away games, but goalie Jordan Binnington has been heating up again.

Do I really need to talk much about the Avalanche? They are the most talented team in hockey and have yet to lose a game this postseason, a perfect 5-0 after sweeping the Nashville Predators in round 1 and taking Game 1 from St. Louis. This is a dominant and dangerous team that can easily win the Stanley Cup this season with their talent and depth. They are also a very good home team that will be hard to overcome on their own ice. Colorado is 10-2 straight up in its last 12 home games. After Game 1, the total has hit the over in six of Colorado's last seven games against St. Louis, with this past game the only one that didn't go over.