NHL Player Props & Best Bets Today: Schedule, Picks for Wednesday's Stanley Cup Playoffs Action

Game 2 in any series is huge, and we’ve got a quartet of gems lined up on the ice Wednesday. The Stanley Cup playoffs continue to march on, and Sportsbook Review betting analyst Neil Parker shares his NHL best bets based on the odds from our best NHL betting sites.

The importance of Game 2 in an NHL playoff series cannot be understated. The winner either claims a commanding 2-0 lead or wipes the slate clean and shrinks it to a best-of-five showdown.

It was a tale of two conferences Monday. The favorite and higher-seeded Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes took care of business in the East, whereas there were a pair of overtime upsets by the Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings in the West. 

Boston will again be without No. 1 center Patrice Bergeron against the Panthers, and all eyes will surely be on the Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid after the superstar was held off the scoresheet in Game 1.

Here are our best NHL picks (odds via DraftKings and FanDuel; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Wednesday’s NHL schedule and odds

(odds via DraftKings)

• New York Islanders (+145) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (-170)
• Florida Panthers (+185) vs. Boston Bruins (-215)
• Minnesota Wild (+130) vs. Dallas Stars (-150)
• Los Angeles Kings (+185) vs. Edmonton Oilers (-215)

Wednesday’s NHL best bets

• Player prop: Viktor Arvidsson Under 0.5 points (+104 via FanDuel)⭐⭐⭐
• Player prop: Evan Bouchard Over 2.5 shots (+145 via DraftKings)⭐⭐⭐
• Player prop: Linus Ullmark Over 30.5 saves (-124 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐
• Puck line parlay: Panthers +1.5 + Oilers +1.5 (+100 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Wednesday’s NHL player prop picks

Player prop: Viktor Arvidsson Under 0.5 points (+104 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐

More than anything, I value that Arvidsson spent more five-on-five ice time matched up against Connor McDavid than any other Oiler during Game 1. Additionally, Arvidsson and his linemates – center Phillip Danault and winger Trevor Moore – combined for a 33.3 Corsi For percentage and generated just a single high-danger scoring chance.

I’m expecting the matchup to stick, and holding McDavid in check is incredibly taxing and limits offensive opportunities. The numbers from the series opener affirm it.

If Los Angeles bench boss Todd McLellan flips the script, the Danault-Arvidsson-Moore line will all but certainly be tasked with matching up against Edmonton’s other superstar center, Leon Draisaitl. And that's just as daunting of a task.

We’re landing a sneaky price here, too. Arvidsson marked the scoresheet twice in Game 1, but both of his assists came with the man advantage. I expect Edmonton’s stars to be even better at five-on-five in Game 2, and the Oilers to tidy up their penalty kill.

Finally, the reason I didn’t grade this as a four-star wager is because the market doesn’t have an outlier price to take advantage of. 

Player prop: Evan Bouchard Over 2.5 shots (+145 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐

While Bouchard hasn’t gone Over this shot total in eight consecutive games dating back to the regular season, I’m encouraged by his eight shot attempts in Game 1 and value his role as the quarterback on the No. 1 power-play unit.

Additionally, Bouchard has more freedom to jump into the play offensively because he's sheltered in his five-on-five pairing with Mattias Ekholm. The duo didn’t start a single shift in the defensive zone during Game 1, either, and they also spent nearly every minute skating with Connor McDavid’s line – a huge boost given No. 97's 55.5 Corsi For percentage over the past two seasons.

My only concern is that Bouchard has had a high volume of attempts (15.02 per 60 minutes) all season, but they just don’t consistently translate into registered shots (6.16 per 60). Still, I consider that more than baked into these odds, and I also expect some statistical correction with more of his attempts converting to shots.

The gap in the available odds presents decent value here, too. Backing the +145 number presents a positive expected value of 7% over the +130 price through PointsBet. That’s the difference of $1.50 on a $10 dollar bet or $15 on a $100 dollar wager.

Player prop: Linus Ullmark Over 30.5 saves (-124 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐

The Panthers put 68 pucks in Ullmark’s direction in Game 1, and he stopped 31 of 32 shots. Florida also paced the NHL in shots per 60 minutes and ranked third in attempts per 60 during the regular season, so I’m expecting the Cats to put pucks on net at every opportunity again Wednesday.

I’m also anticipating it being more difficult for Boston to defend without Patrice Bergeron (upper body) for a second consecutive game. 

Florida, on the other hand, receives a boost with Sam Bennett (groin) returning to action after missing the series opener.

Bennett ranked third in shots and attempts per 60 with an excellent 55.7 Corsi For percentage at five-on-five during the regular season. He’s a sneaky driver of possession and makes the Panthers a more difficult team to match up against.

The odds are pretty tight across the board here, with the difference between the prices through FanDuel and Caesars checking out at a positive expected value of just 3%.

Wednesday's NHL game picks

Puck line parlay: Panthers +1.5 + Oilers +1.5 (+100 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is an unconventional bet, and it requires using an alternative line because all our best sportsbooks have the Edmonton Oilers trading as the favorites and listed at -1.5 on the puck line.

The Florida Panthers' best shot at topping the Boston Bruins in this series is Wednesday's Game 2. Bruins center Patrice Bergeron remains out, and the Panthers won the possession battle (55.0%) and generated more expected goals (61.0%) at five-on-five in Game 1.

Somewhat similarly, Edmonton collapsed in Game 1, and I’m anticipating a statement showing from its superstars. The Oilers won the five-on-five battle with a 59.5 Corsi For percentage and a dominant 63.0% of expected goals for against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1.

I went the parlay route to take overtime out of the equation. There are also definitely other ways to approach the betting markets for the Panthers and Oilers. The best odds for the Florida +1.5 puck line are -140 through DraftKings and PointsBet, and DraftKings also has the best odds for the Oilers' moneyline at -215.

NHL best bets made 4/19/2023 at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Here are our best NHL betting sites:

• FanDuel: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our FanDuel Review
• Caesars: Earn Up to a $1,250 Bet Credit | Read our Caesars Review
• DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
• PointsBet: Earn Five Second-Chance Bets Up to $50 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
• BetMGM: Get a Bonus Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review

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* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.

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• Best Online Sportsbooks | Best Sportsbook Promos (U.S. only)