Stanley Cup Playoffs Picks: Betting Advice & Analysis for 2023 Conference Finals

After a long and entertaining season and playoffs, the NHL Conference Finals are here. Sports Interaction provides solid and off-the-beaten-path possibilities for wagers in this round.   

So, with the East beginning on Thursday night and the West on Friday night, we offer some analysis to help with your NHL betting. 

Schedule Breakdown

Again, here are the Game 1 schedules. This gives the bettor an idea of when they should have their series bets. 

• Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes - 8 p.m. ET (Thursday)
• Dallas Stars at Vegas Golden Knights - 8:30 p.m. ET (Friday)

The schedule is thankfully simple. Each team plays every other night. All games are carried on Sportsnet, TVAS, and CBC.   

Carolina And Florida Series Team And Player Props

The one thing with Carolina and Florida is the old days from the Southeast Division will be remembered quickly. These two teams do not like each other, and the big matchup likely will be Matthew Tkachuk’s line versus Sebastian Aho’s trio. It will be interesting to see how effective Teuvo Teravainen is in this series. Returning from an injury this late in the playoffs could be good or bad.

Firing off some props here is a good strategy. Primarily, there are some head-to-head matchups of Sports Interaction that have potential. H2H goals are a big one. Aho versus Tkachuk is the featured matchup. Aho has five goals through two rounds. Tkachuk does as well. This may be one series where goal-scoring is spread out again for the Hurricanes. Taking Tkachuk at 1.75 is a solid move.

Countering with Martin Necas over Aleksander Barkov is not a bad strategy at 1.85 for goals, then for points at 2.00. Barkov gets the same number (goals), and Necas has been a handful for teams in the playoffs. The forward is growing right before our eyes.

There are many ways to work around this matchup. Carolina series-wise is at 1.78. However, the spread of 1.5 games carries some value at 2.55. Predicting the number of games is kind of even across the board in Canada for the most part. Six games rolls in at 3.24, but five is slightly higher at 3.41.

Carolina is one of those teams that can truly get it going. The series spread represents a safer bet at fewer units.

Dallas And Vegas - Some Quick Numbers And Notes

The Western Conference Final starts on Friday night. Be patient if you wonder why only some player props are out. There are some names to watch, and their game-to-game numbers will be intriguing. Check out the Jake Oettinger save prop but for games in Dallas, look into the Adin Hill save prop. Hill outperformed Oettinger in the last round.

On Friday night, Vegas and Dallas should be attractive. Both teams will have more than enough rest. Some will argue if the Golden Knights will have any rust. That answer is a likely no. Again, series betting is different, and live betting on a series is even more so. Our idea is to get one primary series wager in now and then a very tiny bet around Game 3 or Game 5.

Vegas is a 1.75 favorite to defeat Dallas and advance to the Stanley Cup Final. That is about where they were during the bubble. Dallas upended Vegas that year behind brilliant goaltending and timely scoring. The Stars have a little more firepower now, but so do the Golden Knights.

The key will be goaltending. Can Adin Hill hold up against a Dallas offense that ranks in the top five in scoring? Meanwhile, does Jake Oettinger play more like the Oettinger we saw in the first round against Minnesota? 

Finally, let’s get in more picks. 

Some More Series Wagers To Consider Placing For The East And West

• Carolina tiny wagers to win at 4-1 (5.81) and 4-2 (5.55).
• ECF series in six games at 3.24 as a potential hedge.
• The Eastern Conference Final to go six games at +200.
• Correct series score after three games - Carolina at 2.38.
• Series ending in six in the West at 3.07.
• Dallas Stars winner at 2.05 plus in six games at 5.86.
• Roope Hintz leading in goals is another prop bet to watch (Numbers TBA)
• Watch save props heavily as they come out. The Over figures to hit several times this round.

Good luck, and once again, thanks for reading! We will carry some more plays on social media as conditions warrant.

Odds are from SportsInteraction.