Deep Betting Analysis for Top Two Games of the NHL Slate

• With four NHL games today, focusing on the game and/or player props for the best games will reveal trends to follow.
• The likely best games for this slate for betting are the Boston Bruins @ Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars @ Minnesota Wild.
• With injuries playing a big role in each of these games, news is worth monitoring throughout the day for changes.

SUNRISE, Fla. – While the Boston Bruins were largely expected to wallop the Florida Panthers en route to a likely Stanley Cup Finals berth, they now find themselves with mounting injuries and a tied series heading back to FLA Live Arena. On the other hand, the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars are among the closest odds of any matchup on online betting sites, making a deeper dive worth it to find value.

Bruins’ Feel the Pressure Following Blowout and Injuries

The Panthers pulled out an immaculate win on Wednesday night, stunning the Bruins 6-3 and positioning themselves perfectly now on home ice. The Bruins in addition are now finding themselves in an unfortunate situation where Patrice Bergeron is now likely to miss both games three and four against the Panthers.

To make matters worse for the Presidents Trophy winners, Vezina Trophy favorite (-1610) Linus Ullmark is also not skating at morning practice, and is likely to be out for the game. With all this in mind, odds have begun trending towards the Panthers, as they now sit at just +120 to win outright.

With this now marking the seventh game between the Panthers and Bruins this season, there is a treasure trove of data to make informed guesses around the game lines. One of these that has consistently cashed is the over for the 6.0 total, which stands at -125 odds and may move soon with the recent news.

The over has happened in five out of the six matchups on the year, and with the likely absence of Linus Ullmark, the over should present a phenomenal value. One more thing to note is that the total was set at 6.5 for five out of six games, making the 6.0 an even nicer value for a potential push.

As alluded to previously, the Panthers also present a great value to win outright at +125 as they are one of a few teams to have an overall even or better record against the Bruins, standing at 3-3 so far. Against Jeremy Swayman, the Panthers won both games, one being in overtime. All of this makes both Panthers money line at +120 and the over at -125 the top options for betting on this game.

Wild Look to Gustavsson to Stop the Bleeding

The Wild and Stars begun the series with a phenomenal close match in the first game, but a questionable goalie change led to the Stars dominating the Wild in game two, resulting in a 7-3 smackdown. Now with Filip Gustavsson likely back in net for the Wild, they will look to claim game three on home ice. This meeting will be their seventh since the start of the season.

Right off the bat this gives a lot of credence to the under for the 5.5 total, which sits at -120 odds on online sportsbooks. This is because in their games this season, the only two that went over the total were ones in which Marc Andre-Fleury started for the Wild.

One piece of news that will be worth monitoring is the status of Joel Eriksson Ek, as him playing could prove to be a big boost for the Wild, with him being second on the team in assists. Recent reports say he has skated during morning practice for the third straight time and will be a gametime decision, likely leaning towards him being active after missing the last two weeks.

If he is in, the Wild certainly appear as attractive options for their money line at -105, as his contributions against the stars include two goals this year. If he is not however, player props such as those for Kirill Kaprizov or Matt Boldy certainly get better as they will have to shoot more in the absence of Eriksson Ek.

Both games should see plenty of action and will feature some of the most interesting storylines in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With so much tension being built up through the first two games, game three should be one of the biggest turning points for the winners, especially if they are the series underdogs.