What the Puck Line!? Key Strategies for Successful Betting in the Stanley Cup Finals

What the Puck Line!? Key Strategies for Successful Betting in the Stanley Cup Finals

This article is part of our NHL Picks series.

NHL Betting: Hockey Betting 101 for the Stanley Cup Finals

The Stanley Cup Finals is one of the most thrilling and intense sporting events in the world of ice hockey. For sports bettors, it presents a fantastic opportunity to immerse themselves in the action and potentially profit from their knowledge and predictions. However, understanding the odds and terminology can be a challenge for newcomers to hockey betting. Before delving into the specifics of this Stanley Cup matchup between the Panthers and Golden Knights, it's crucial to understand the basic concepts of hockey betting. In this article, we will provide expert advice on key strategies for successful betting in the Stanley Cup Finals, helping you navigate the action to make informed wagers.

The puck line is the most common form of wagering in hockey, similar to the point spread in other sports. The favored team will have a negative puck line, usually -1.5, while the underdog will have a positive puck line, typically +1.5. This means that the favorite needs to win by two or more goals, while the underdog can lose by one goal or win the game outright for a successful bet.

Prop bets allow you to bet on specific occurrences during the game, such as individual player performance like shots on goal for skaters and saves made by goalies, total goals scored by each team, or even the outcome of specific periods. Prop bets can provide an opportunity for more precise predictions and can be a fun way to diversify your betting portfolio.

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Here are all the player prop bets DraftKings Sportsbook lists for the series as a whole, meaning that these props apply to players' cumulative performance over the duration of the series:

Most Goals

Author Pick: Carter Verhaeghe (FLA) +600

Most Points

Author Pick: Aleksander Barkov (FLA) +475

Head-to-Head (H2H) Goals 

Author Pick: Most Goals in Series - Jack Eichel (VGK) vs Matthew Tkachuk (FLA)

Matthew Tkachuk -130

Head-to-Head (H2H) Points

Author Pick: Most Points in Series - Mark Stone (VGK) vs Aleksander Barkov (FLA)

Aleksander Barkov -140

Players Goals

Author Pick:  Sam Reinhart (FLA) to score 2+ goals in series 

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Here are some of the popular series props that DraftKings Sportsbook lists for the overall matchup, meaning these bets are determined by the outcome of the games themselves:

Series Winner

Author Pick: Panthers +105

Series Spread

Author Pick: Panthers +1.5 games -190

Series Correct Score

Author Pick: Panthers 4-3 +550

Series Total Games

Author Pick: 7 Games +200

Series Hat Trick (any player to record a hat trick)

Author Pick: No

Series Total Goals

Author Pick: Under 33.5 (-125)

Series Exact Outcome

Author Pick: G1 VGK / G2 FLA / G3 FLA / G4 VGK / G5 VGK / G6 FLA / G7 FLA +6500

Game X / Series Double

Author Pick: Golden Knights to Win Game 1 / Panthers to Win Series +400

Total Number of Overtime Games

Author Pick: Over 1.5 +145

Total Number of Shutouts

Author Pick: Under 0.5 -125

Happy hunting, y'all!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grant Leonard
Former Junior B ice hockey player, and current believer that the Washington Capitals' aging core still has another Cup run left in the tank. Writing about hockey and sports betting for RotoWire since 2022.
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