NHL Round 2 Playoff Game 1s: What to Know Before Placing Your Bets

Here are a few takeaways on what expects to be an even crazier night. 

Schedule Breakdown

Simply, here is tonight’s breakdown. 

• New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes - 7:00 pm ET
• Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights - 9:30 pm ET

The schedule is simple. It is always good with just two games a night.   

Some Good Injury News Mostly

For the four teams playing tonight, they are in Round 2. New Jersey is fully healthy after the brutal hit absorbed by Timo Meier in Game 7. Meier will play as expected. Carolina is also healthy, aside from Andrei Svechnikov.

Fortunately, Edmonton and Vegas are also as close to 100% as they will get. That means a Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl against Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. There are many variables, but the Oilers and Golden Knights series may determine which goalie cracks under the most intense pressure the least. 

ESPN Is Where The Puck Is Tonight

Wednesday’s two games are over the air on ESPN tonight, like Tuesday. The difference is local coverage will only be available for pre and post-game coverage. Up in Canada, Sportsnet and TVAS are the choices.

New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes

New Jersey looked dead after two games of their series with the New York Rangers. Then, Akira Schmidt entered the scene. All the goalie did was go 4-1, with two shutouts, and sport a .951 save percentage. Hey, those former USHL goaltenders are pretty good. It also did not hurt that New Jersey won their final two games via shutout. Everyone knows their road prowess by now.

Carolina and New Jersey were evenly matched during the season. The interesting wrinkle is that Frederik Andersen finished the series against the New York Islanders. Can Sebastian Aho keep carrying this balanced team, and does their special teams improve versus New Jersey? Those are big questions. 

Oh wait, there is that nightcap for Wednesday night. This one steams up the glass!

Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights

After taking care of the stubborn Los Angeles Kings, the Edmonton Oilers face off against a Vegas Golden Knights team they know well. There is a reason why Edmonton is a slight road favorite tonight (the only road team of the four). That is because the Oilers are 3-0-1 head-to-head against the Golden Knights.

Furthermore, that Edmonton offense keeps them in games. It also does not hurt to have the top power play, which converts about a third of the time. With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl getting so much attention, teams need to remember Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and emerging defensive star Evan Bouchard. 

Keep in mind, Vegas is no slouch here. Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, the “Misfits,” and a dozen players with ten or more goals scream balance. The key for the Golden Knights will be how well the defense holds up with Laurent Brossoit. Brossoit was solid, with four wins in Round 1 and a .915 save percentage versus Winnipeg. This is not Winnipeg, however.

Some Wagers To Consider Placing For the Game 1s

• Timo Meier over 0.5 points comes in at EVEN, and 3.5 shots Over is +125. 
• Expect the unexpected with goal-scoring. Look at how Joe Pavelski went off for four goals. 
• Laurent Brossoit save prop bet take the over. See where it lands.
• Sebastian Aho's anytime goal is at +150, and the first goal fires in at +1000.
• Jack Eichel, over 3.5 shots, is at +120.
• Edmonton win with McDavid, and Draisaitl goal rolls in as a +340 parlay
• Edmonton and Vegas regulation draw are +320.
• More crazy bets are coming for Thursday as Round 2 rolls along.

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

Thanks to BetMGM for their help.