Stanley Cup Playoffs 2023 Update: Oilers And Stars Look To Get Even In Round One

Noah Strang breaks down his best NHL plays for Wednesday's Stanley Cup Playoff action, starting with the Wild and Stars and wrapping up with the Kings and Oilers. He also breaks down the futures market with some sharp movement at the top.

All wagers can be placed with licensed Sportsbooks in the US.

With the playoffs now underway, there are officially only 16 teams who have a chance at winning the cup. Amongst those, many are heavy long shots. Let's take a look at some of the top contenders and where they stand currently. 

The Bruins are still the overwhelming favorites at +275. They won their last eight games of the regular season and continued that streak with a Game One victory. It’s evident that there won’t be any sort of brutal postseason collapse from the best regular-season team of all time. 

The Carolina Hurricanes jumped up into a tie for second place after taking Game One of their first round match up. Their current +700 represents a stark difference from last week's +1000. After struggling down the stretch of the regular season, getting off to a strong start in the playoffs was likely a big factor in this line change.

Knotted with the Hurricanes at +700 are the defending champion Colorado Avalanche. From +600 last week this line could reflect the news that Gabriel Landeskog won’t return at any point in the playoffs. This is now the second week in a row the Avs have seen their odds get worse, however, a strong showing in round one would see that number significantly decrease. If you’re thinking about betting on Colorado, now is the time.

The Maple Leafs are occupying the fourth spot with a +800 line, slightly better than last week's +900 mark. Their first-round foe and defending three-time cup finalists Lightning are surprisingly all the way down in 11th place at +2000. 

Rounding out the top five are the Edmonton Oilers who following a Game One loss saw their odds shift from +800 to +900. The Oilers are another team that will garner a lot of attention and bets should they get out of the first round meaning this number is only likely to decrease. If you’re a believer in the Oilers, these could be the best odds you are going to get. 

2023 Stanley Cup Champion

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With the first-round matchups for the NHL Playoffs set and underway, let’s take a quick look at each series. 

In the Eastern Conference, the league-best Boston Bruins hold a 1-0 series advantage over last year's President’s Trophy-winning Florida Panthers. The top seed from the Metropolitan, the Hurricanes, also took care of business in Game One against the New York Islanders. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are set to face off in a rematch of last year’s seven-game first round series which saw the Lightning move on. Toronto once again will look to rid themselves of their first-round demons and win a playoff series for the first time in nearly 20 years. Lastly, the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils will battle in what should be an extremely close-fought series.

In the Western Conference, the top-seed Golden Knights are taking on the Winnipeg Jets as Vegas looks to replicate the playoff success they experienced as a first-year franchise back in 2018. The defending champion Avalanche begin their quest for another cup against the Seattle Kraken who made the playoffs in just their second season in franchise history. The previously scorching-hot Oilers dropped a nail-biter in game one against the LA Kings and will look to bounce back tonight. The tightest-fought series in the West was perceived to be the Dallas Stars against the Minnesota Wild and that belief was proven correct in game one as the Wild took the win in double overtime. 

As is the case each year, injuries and health will play a big role for teams in the playoffs. It has already been reported that Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog has been ruled out for the entirety of the postseason in a crushing blow for the Avs, while Hurricanes star Andrei Svechnikov also won’t be playing after suffering a torn ACL back in March. Tanner Jeannot of the Lightning and Joel Eriksson Ek of the Wild are both expected to miss the first half of their respective first-round matchups. 

Game 2 - Minnesota Wild @ Dallas Stars-155 (5.5)

The Stars host the Wild for Game Two of their first-round series on Wednesday night. After a thrilling double overtime victory for the Wild in Game One, the Stars are looking for a split on home ice. 

Prior to the Game One loss, the Stars had rounded out the regular season with a six-game win streak and were one of the hottest teams in the league coming into the playoffs. They have all the makings of a team poised to make a deep cup run as they finished the regular season seventh in the league in goals for and third in goals allowed. Unfortunately, they were dealt a blow on Monday night when Joe Pavelski was knocked unconscious from a hit by the Wild’s Matt Dumba. Though the team has not released any news of his condition as of now, the likelihood of him returning for this game is minuscule. 

Minnesota did not experience the same type of success to round out the season going just 5-3-2 in their last 10 and are dealing with injuries of their own to center Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman John Klingberg who are both questionable for the game. 

The Stars are currently around -150 favorites and I like them to win this game. Though the loss of Pavelski hurts, it’s the type of thing that can ignite a team and push them to play with that extra intensity that is needed in playoff hockey. As well, they cannot afford to head to Minnesota down 2-0 making this game essentially a must-win for them. 

I also like the under in this game. Both teams are elite defensively as the Wild finished the season sixth in goals allowed and as mentioned previously, the Stars were third. In game one, the two teams played 92 minutes of hockey and the final score was still just 3-2. I expect more of the same in game two, especially with the tenacity and physicality the Stars are likely to come out of the gate with which encourages me to take the under on the 5.5 line.  

Game 2 - Los Angeles Kings @ Edmonton Oilers-225 (6.5)

In the Pacific two versus three matchup, the Oilers find themselves in a similar situation to the Stars as they are looking to salvage one of two after falling 4-3 in overtime to the Kings in game one. 

The Oilers were leading comfortably for most of the game and were poised to take the win until Anze Kopitar found the back of the net on a power play with 17 seconds left in the third. 

Similarly to my thoughts on the Stars, I expect the Oilers to come out extra hungry in Game Two as going down 2-0 heading to Los Angeles would all but kill their chances of winning the series. 

I like the Oilers to bounce back in Game Two and handle business. They outplayed the Kings for the vast majority of the game and if it were not for a few reckless and silly penalties that can easily be cleaned up, would have comfortably won the game. They outhit and outshot the Kings along with having a 42 to 31 advantage at the faceoff dot. As -225 favorites, the value isn’t great on the moneyline but I still think it's worth a sprinkle as I’m confident in the Oilers taking the win.

Along with the aforementioned points, another reason I like the Oilers is some guy named Connor McDavid. After a 153-point regular season, McDavid was held pointless in game one and finished as a minus-two. I expect the best player in the world to have a bounce-back Game Two and carry the Oilers to a win the way he has done all season long. It may be a bit bold, but I like McDavid anytime goal prop, over 1.5 points, and the Oilers moneyline as in a game the Oilers must have, I expect McDavid to show out.