The first set of Round 2 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff games was wild. The Bruins are clearly revenge-minded as they take on the Panthers, the team that ended their historic season last year and won the division in 2024 — a 5-1 walloping is clear evidence of that. And then there is the Rangers, who did their best to waste a three-goal first period but managed to pull out the 4-3 win over Carolina. Wouldn’t you know it; NHL bettors are reacting pretty quickly to these results and making some betting decisions accordingly. Let’s get into BetMGM’s NHL Playoffs betting insight and see some of the odds movement being driven by betting trends.
BetMGM NHL Playoffs Betting Insight: NHL Odds Movement
Source: John Ewing of BetMGM
One that jumps out immediately is the amount of action coming in on the Oilers, who are the lower seed for their matchup with the Canucks. Vancouver won the Pacific this year and had 5 more points than No. 2 seed Edmonton, but the Canucks only won one more game than the Oilers and had a worse goal differential (by one, but still).
Edmonton also rolled the Kings in Round 1, while the Canucks took six games to knock off the fourth-seeded Predators. There is also the matter of the Oilers having, you know, the best hockey player on the planet in Connor McDavid, who has yet to find true playoff success despite three Hart Trophies.
Alas, even though Edmonton has gone from -250 to -275 on BetMGM to knock off Vancouver, the betting public is still on McDavid’s squad in both quantity of bets and money wagered — 52% and 76%, respectively.
In the same vein, the star power of the Avalanche (mainly Hart Trophy favorite Nathan MacKinnon) could be driving some public sentiment as they face the top seed in Dallas. The Stars are slightly favored at -115, down from -130 at opening, and bettors hammering Colorado at 73% could ultimately push this to even by puck drop on Tuesday.
The Bruins have swung their odds in their favor, as they are now -125 to win the series after winning Game 1 — Florida opened at -165 to take the series that is a rematch of last year’s massive first-round upset. That said, money and bets are both pretty strongly pro-Panthers, at 70% and 58%. Rangers-Hurricanes has also flipped in the wake of New York taking Game 1. The Rangers opened at +115 and closed before Game 1 at +130, but a 4-3 Game 1 victory now has New York slightly favored at -140, and bettors are giving that squad more action in terms of number of bets and money.
Since most of these series are keeping odds pretty close, it’s clear every single game could swing back and forth on the BetMGM odds board. After all, the NHL betting public is a “what have you done for me lately” bunch.
