- The Pittsburgh Penguins are -150 favorites against the New York Islanders.
- The Washington Capitals have +140 odds to advance past the Boston Bruins.
- The Florida Panthers are listed at +140 to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning.
LAS VEGAS – The Stanley Cup Playoff bracket is set, and therefore online sportsbooks have set the series lines for the first round of matchups.
Some lines are a little more interesting than others and we’ll highlight some of the most interesting odds.
Pittsburgh Penguins (-150) vs. New York Islanders
These two teams are among the best in different categories. Styles make fights and these guys have opposite styles and strengths.
The Penguins scored the second-most goals per game during the regular season with 3.45 goals per game while the Islanders allowed the second-fewest goals per game with just 2.23.
This series will answer the age-old question of if good offense beats good defense.
In the regular season, Pittsburgh won six of their eight games against the Islanders and thus sit as -150 favorites to take home the series.
The Penguins outscored the Islanders 22-16 in those eight games, four of which were decided by just one goal.
Advertising Disclosure
USAOnlineSportsbooks.com provides you with the most current information regarding sports betting and fantasy with the help of commissions we receive from links you may click on our site.
Washington Capitals (+140) vs. Boston Bruins
The Capitals and Bruins are similar to the previous match as it’s an offensive-heavy versus a defensive-heavy team. The Caps rank fourth in the NHL with 3.36 goals per game while the Bruins rank fourth in goals allowed with only 2.39 per game.
The season series between the two was split 4-4 in their eight games with a 26-25 total goal advantage to Boston. This should be a closely contested matchup throughout the series.
Sports betting sites are giving out Washington as +140 underdogs and given how closely the two match up against each other, could be worthy of a bet strictly based on value alone. This series should be closer to a pick’ em that what it is.
Florida Panthers (+140) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Panthers are +140 underdogs to knock off the reigning champs in the first round. The Panthers took the season series 5-3, but Tampa Bay will be returning a couple of key players in Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos who they were missing for a large part of the season.
At full strength, most would agree that the Lightning are the better team, but it remains to be seen whether there will be any rust with the return of their star forwards.
This is another value pick more than anything. It’s extremely possible that the Lightning get their stars back and completely fry the competition, but it’s equally as possible that they struggle to get their bearings as a team with a new-look lineup.
Nick got involved with the world of sports at a young age and never turned his back on it. He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Broadcast/Journalism. In his free time, you can catch him at the bottom of the leaderboards on any video game he’s playing.
