NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 Series Lines and Picks: Value in Panthers to Beat State Rivals

The second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs is upon us, with four series that should make for great viewing. We preview each series and give you ways to get in on the action with our top Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 series picks.

Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs lived up to the hype and then some. Five of the eight series went the distance, and two of them went into overtime in Sunday's Game 7. Despite this, there were not that many upsets in the first round, with the biggest by pre-series prices being the St. Louis Blues taking down the Minnesota Wild. And despite the lower-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning handing the Toronto Maple Leafs yet another first-round exit, bettors had sent that series price down to close to a pick'em before puck drop in Game 1.

Below, we'll preview each of the four series in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and offer our best bets (series lines via DraftKings Sportsbook).

NHL Playoffs Round 2 Series Lines

St. Louis Blues (+290) vs. Colorado Avalanche (-380)New York Rangers (+160) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (-190)Tampa Bay Lightning (+145) vs. Florida Panthers (-165)Edmonton Oilers (+160) vs. Calgary Flames (-190)

Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 Series Predictions

Blues (+290) vs. Avalanche (-380)

The Colorado Avalanche are the betting favorites for the Stanley Cup, and for good reason. They easily dispatched the Nashville Predators in four games and surely would have finished the first round with the best Corsi for percentage (CF%), shots for percentage (SF%), scoring chances for percentage (SCF%), and expected goals for percentage (xGF%) at 5-on-5 if the Calgary Flames had not needed seven games to beat the Dallas Stars.

St. Louis was able to ride its second-best power play from the regular season to beat Minnesota in six games, converting at a 30.8% clip and scoring the most goals on the man advantage in the first round (eight). The Blues were actually outplayed at 5v5 by the Wild, as they had a worse CF% and xGF% than Minnesota. However, the Blues' third-best shooting percentage at 5v5 of 9.09% meant they capitalized on their chances, and the Wild didn't.

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The Avalanche are the team to beat in the Western Conference. With Colorado owning a decided rest advantage and with St. Louis a bit banged up on the blue line with the potential continued absence of Torey Krug, I'm not in a rush to predict an upset here.

Bet: Avalanche -2.5 (+142 via FanDuel Sportsbook)

Rangers (+160) vs. Hurricanes (-190)

Hockey can be a cruel sport sometimes.

The Pittsburgh Penguins actually had the best xGF% in the first round of the playoffs, yet were bounced in seven games by the New York Rangers, and it wasn't all due to Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. He was pulled twice in the series and had a .911 SV%, subpar for his high standards. A combination of Pittsburgh having to ride third-string goaltender Louis Domingue and timely power-play goals for New York spelled the end for Pittsburgh.

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For the Carolina Hurricanes, it was their play defensively at 5v5 that won them the series. Despite being outshot and outchanced at even strength, they gave up just 10 goals at full strength through seven games. Carolina goaltender Antii Raanta posted a .927 SV% and goals saved above average of 2.28 in all situations. Combine that with the way the Hurricanes played defense, it may not matter that their true number one goaltender in Frederik Andersen is still out due to a knee injury.

Lightning (+145) vs. Panthers (-165)

A rematch of a highly entertaining first-round matchup from last year, the Battle of Florida has all the signs pointing to a classic series.

The Florida Panthers' first-round series against the Washington Capitals was not the cruise that most people expected. They had to come back from a 2-1 series deficit and make comebacks in Games 4 and 5. They then needed to go to overtime in Game 6 in order to win and advance. Despite being the better team at 5v5, Florida's power play couldn't score a single goal through six games. In contrast, Washington was able to score seven times with the man advantage, which helped keep the series close. Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky looked shaky at times, a major concern for the Panthers heading into the postseason.

Tampa Bay played an extremely close series against Toronto, with the Maple Leafs having the slightest of edges in CF% and xGF% by the end. Perhaps the two major stories were Andrei Vasilevskiy's poor play — his minus-3.47 GSAA in all situations was the second-worst rate in Round 1 — and center Brayden Point suffering a leg injury late in the first period of Game 7.

The Point injury is a major narrative worth monitoring. He remains doubtful for Game 1 and will be considered day-to-day afterward. If he does not return or is limited, that is a major hole in Tampa's lineup that can not easily be filled. Florida can surely win the first game without Point and then win the series.

Bet: Game 1/series parlay - Florida/Florida (+128 via FanDuel)

Oilers (+160) vs. Flames (-190)

Perhaps the most anticipated matchup in Round 2 (especially north of the border), this will be the first time that these two rivals have faced off in the playoffs since 1991.

The only reason the Calgary Flames needed to go to overtime in Game 7 was Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger. He finished his playoffs with a ridiculous .954 SV% and 11.67 GSAA in all situations, and a .953 SV% at 5v5. Without him, this series could have easily been a sweep as the Flames led in CF%, xGF%, SCF%, and pretty much any other meaningful statistic you can find at 5v5.

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The Edmonton Oilers survived a Mike Smith gaffe in Game 1 and took its series against the Los Angeles Kings the distance as well. The Oilers didn't dominate at 5v5 but they didn't have to, as their power play clicked at a 36.8% clip and their penalty kill gave up just three goals all series.

The possible absence of defenseman Chris Tanev is huge for the Flames. One of the best shot suppressing defensemen in the NHL, he was a late scratch before Game 7 due to an undisclosed injury and is the player that will be tasked with trying to stop Oilers center Connor McDavid, as much as one can. If he is still out for Game 1 on Wednesday, I can see Calgary dropping that game and you will be able to get a better price after that.

The Flames are a far superior team at controlling play at 5v5 — which is crucial in the playoffs — and they'll have the advantage in goal with Jacob Markstrom opposing Smith.

Stanley Cup Odds

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Where to Bet on NHL Playoffs Round 2 Series Picks

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

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