After Boston’s Game 7 victory over Toronto on Wednesday, the second round of the NHL Playoffs can begin and two games are set for Thursday night. The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins will play at Washington, while San Jose travels to Vegas.
The other two conference semifinal series are Boston against Tampa Bay, and Nashville facing Winnipeg. The Jets will be on the road to face the Predators on Friday, while the Lightning will host the Bruins on Saturday.
The odds for the best-of-seven series are much tighter than they were for some of the contests in the first round. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook released all the lines Thursday morning.
In the Western Conference, Nashville is the biggest favorite at -145, while Winnipeg is +125. Vegas is next at -140, to San Jose’s +120 for the upset.
In the Eastern Conference, Tampa Bay is at -140 to defeat Boston, and the Bruins are at +120. Oddsmakers believe the Pittsburgh-Washington series will be the closest. The Penguins are -125, while the Capitals are +105.
Sharks Hoping To Take Bite Out of Vegas
San Jose comes into Vegas knowing what to expect of both the team and some of the most raucous fans in hockey. They lost the regular season series to the Golden Knights, 3-1, but Sharks captain Joe Pavelski told NHL.com the team is used to the atmosphere.
“It’s a great building,” Pavelski said. “They’ve done a tremendous job there. There’s a lot of entertainment going on, a lot of noise. Their regular-season production was pretty good. I don’t see it getting a whole lot louder. It’s exciting. I think in warm ups you can feel a little jump in your step.”
The Golden Knights, along with Pittsburgh and Winnipeg, had the best home win total with 28, and having home ice advantage could be a deciding factor. They opened at -140 to win the first game, but have jumped as high as -155 at some sportsbooks. Another plus for the team is goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who had two shutouts against the Kings in the team’s sweep of their first-round playoff win.
Capitals Try to Rid Nemesis
This could be the year Washington finally rids itself of Pittsburgh, but the defending champions are favored to dispatch the Capitals for the third consecutive year. Bettors believe Washington will win the first game at home, however. They teams opened equal at -110, but the line has moved to -125 in the Capitals favor. The Penguins are now +110.
Injuries are the main reason Pittsburgh could get upset. One of the Penguins top lines will be missing two of three players. Center Evgeni Malkin is out with a lower body injury, but did travel with the team. Left wing Carl Hagelin did not make the trip. He suffered an upper body injury in the first round. When both players will return is up in the air.
The Capitals are hoping to take advantage of the Penguins shaky goaltending. Matt Murray has not been the netminder they thought he would be this year, and though he didn’t struggle in the first round, he did look very beatable against a Philadelphia team that probably shouldn’t have extended the series as long as they did.
