Tampa Bay Lightning look to crawl back into series with Florida Panthers after falling into 3-1 series hole

The Battle of Florida may be headed for an earlier than expected close as the Panthers have taken a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Lightning heading back to Tampa Bay. 

The Bolts will need to make adjustments if they want to stay alive in the series and will get the advantage of Florida's Aaron Ekblad being suspended for two games after elbowing Tampa's Brandon Hagel. 

For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our 30-15 record on our last 45 picks, including perfect records during Game 1 and 4 of the Maple Leafs-Senators series. 

All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.

More NHL: Battle of Ontario Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Futures for Maple Leafs versus Senators

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers Best Bets:

• Lightning ML (-114) 
• Under 5.5 goals (-108)
• Nikita Kucherov anytime goal (+160)
• Brayden Point Over 0.5 points (-178)

Scoring hasn't been an issue in this series with the six or more goals in three of the four games so far. Tampa goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been roughed up at times with six goals allowed in game one and three allowed in game four. 

He will need to be great if the Bolts want to edge this one out and that's why I'm calling for an unexpected under game. The Lightning will play a classic playoff shutdown games where teams on the brink of elimination allowed very few goals like the Senators shutting out the Maple Leafs in game five this past Tuesday. 

More NHL:New Leak Reveals Utah Hockey Club New Team Name

Tampa will need to bring offence of their own and I expect it to come from the league's top point man in Nikita Kucherov. The Russian winger finished the season with 121 points and has continued his red hot play into the postseason but has yet to score in this series. 

His 37 goals this season placed him tied for 13th with Montreal's Cole Caufield and fellow Russian winger Artemi Panarin. He can score at an elite level and just hasn't yet. He is listed with best odds to score in this one at +160 and should be taken. 

His linemates Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel have benefited greatly from playing with a talent like Kucherov and have both out up solid numbers. Point has just two goals this series and I expect him to get on the board with a dish to Kucherov for his goal. 

More NHL: Where Will Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet Go Next? 

The Utah Hockey Club experiences leak where new name is revealed

The Utah Hockey Club had news leak on Wednesday that they may have not been ready for. As they are taking their time with the announcement of what the new name will be for their franchise, their YouTube page gave fans an early look whether it was intended or not. 

Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) on XUtah Hockey Club’s official YouTube page now shows UtahMammoth 🦣

The team has not yet commented on the leak but all signs point to it being true. We can expect a full brand roll out in the next few days for what we now know is the Utah Mammoth. 

More NHL:Where Will Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet Go Next? 

The NHL has seen several changes around the league in terms of new teams like the Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights joining recently as expansion teams. Betting odds were at one point posted for what the future name will be so if you can find it anywhere, this is obviously a must-bet opportunity.

In their inaugural 2024–25 NHL season, the Utah Hockey Club finished with a 38–31–13 record, placing 6th in the Central Division and missing the playoffs by a narrow margin. 

Utah has a 1.5 per cent chance of winning the NHL Draft lottery and may have a chance to draft Boston College centre James Hagens, who is listed with +410 odds to go first overall.

More NHL: Stars' Hintz, Oilers' Nugent-Hopkins Headline Playoff Players Due for Bounce Back Performances

They could also opt to go with the new consensus top pick in Erie Otters defenceman Matthew Schaefer. He would fall under the bet of a defenceman to go first overall at -158 and could be a great addition to Utah's blueline. 

Utah showed resilience throughout this season, with standout performances from Clayton Keller, who led with 89 points, and goalie Karel Vejmelka, who finished with a 26-22-8 record along with a solid 2.58 goals against average. 

Despite a promising 89-point campaign, Utah fell short of a wild-card spot, ending their season with a 6–1 loss to the St. Louis Blues, who secured the final playoff berth.

Toronto Maple Leafs return home with chance to close out series versus Ottawa Senators in Game 5 on Tuesday

Tuesday night is the ultimate opportunity for NHL fans, with a loaded slate of thrilling matchups for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The game that sticks out is the Battle of Ontario between the Maple Leafs and Senators with Toronto looking to advance to the second round with a win. 

The Buds look to close out the series and improve on a 1-11 record in closeout games during the Auston Matthews era. Ottawa looks to stave off elimination and keep their Stanley Cup hopes alive. 

For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our 29-12 record on our last 41 picks, including perfect record during Game 1 and 4 of the series. 

All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.

More NHL: Battle of Ontario Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Futures for Maple Leafs versus Senators

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Ottawa Senators Best Bets:

• Leafs ML (-162)
• Over 5.5 goals (-114)
• Leafs Score First (-145)
• John Tavares Over 0.5 points (-174)
• Brady Tkachuk Over 0.5 points (-132)
• Tim Stutzle Under 0.5 points (+126)

Offence has been red hot lately with Toronto's big four of Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and Auston Matthews recording points in every game of the series except for Game 3 in Tavares' case.

Ottawa has simply not had an answer for Toronto's playmakers with nine goals allowed through the first two games that were played in Toronto.

More NHL: Stars' Hintz, Oilers' Nugent-Hopkins Headline Playoff Players Due for Bounce Back Performances

For Game 5, the Maple Leafs return home with a second-round bid on their mind. If they can manage to continue their success at home and keep doing what is making them successful, then they should find a favourable result on Tuesday.

Game 4 of the series will likely appear as an outlier as offence was finally generated from Ottawa winger Tim Stutzle, who scored his first goal of the series and marked his first real point of the series after recording a second assist on a Senators goal back in Game 2. 

I expect the Maple Leafs to put the clamps on the German winger once again and play a solid defensive game after getting out to an early lead. 

The Buds have scored six first period goals this series and should get another one here as Senators netminder Linus Ullmark has struggled to stop the bleeding with 15 goals allowed through four games.

The member of Toronto's big four with the best value is Tavares, who has continued his hot streak into the postseason with three goals. He has been playing alongside Nylander, who has also been hot and should set up for another offensive night for the line. 

Senators' captain Brady Tkachuk has felt the pressure of the playoffs and has responded well with points in three straight games and is surprisingly still listed at a decent value to get on the board. 

Ottawa won't go down quietly and Tkachuk will certainly be a factor for the Senators in this one. Due to Stutzle's struggles in the series, he's been pulled off Tkachuk's line and it hasn't slowed the Arizona native down. 

More NHL: Bolts, Golden Knights Present Last Call For Massive Betting Values

Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz and Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins among names listed for struggling players yet to produce in Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Stanley Cup Playoffs have seen some exciting moments early on like Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog returning to the lineup after being sidelined for three years or Toronto depth defenceman Simon Benoit finally getting his moment and contributing two overtime winners.

It's been fun to see some players get their day in the sun but for others, this postseason has been one to forget following a slow start. Here are some players that have either been out to slow starts or have done well but aren't being respected at the sportsbooks.

Roope Hintz - Dallas Stars

The 28-year-old Finnish winger has struggled to generate offence early on after recording 28 goals and and 39 assists for 67 points this season. His 0.88 point-per-game average was still very solid and people expected the young centre to play a big role in the Stars' postseason success.

After the first four games of the opening round, Hintz has recorded just one point—a surprising turn considering he came into the series riding a three-game point streak against Colorado and had finished the regular season strong with 12 points in his final 13 games. Points will come eventually for Hintz and I expect his prop bets to become a great value over the final three games.

Ivan Demidov - Montreal Canadiens

This one is more of a player simply being due as the highly-anticipated Russian prospect has now played five career games in the NHL and hasn't gotten on the scoresheet since his debut. His wild first game was fun to watch and I expect another big Demidov game as the Habs have the momentum in the series after a big game three win.

The Capitals have also lost a ton of steam after losing starting goaltender Logan Thompson to what looked like a painful knee injury. They will likely smell blood in the water and play a very tight second game in Montreal. Demidov is seeing more chances after playing just over 15 minutes in game three which was his most time on the ice since his debut. If he gets more ice-time the chances should come.

More NHL: Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Future Options

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers have really struggled to find secondary scoring with superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl being forced to carry the load. While both star players were out this season, Nugent-Hopkins stepped into a much bigger role as the team's top centre and finished the season strong with ten points over his last 13 games.

He recorded his first point of the series with a goal in a 7-4 game three win and I expect him to build on it as the Oilers will only look to get hotter and climb back into their series with LA. Nugent-Hopkins sees time on the first power play unit, which has been shown to be deadly in the past and could provide a cheap option to get in on scoring from McDavid and Drasaitl for odds at plus money.

More NHL: Edmonton Oilers vs LA Kings Round 4 Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Future Options

Mark Stone - Vegas Golden Knights

It was a breakout year for the Vegas captain, who managed a 1.02 point-per-game average with a career-high 67 points through 66 games. It was a solid campaign from the 32-year-old Winnipeg native but since turning to the postseason, he hasn't found nearly the same success.

Stone is known to be a gamer for Vegas with 64 points through 75 playoff games with the Golden Knights. However, the Minnesota Wild have been shutting down Stone and limiting his chances with just one point through the first four games of the series. I expect a huge bounce back from Stone after finishing second on the team in points during the regular season and will most certainly see points start to come as he plays with lethal forwards in Ivan Barbashev and superstar Jack Eichel.

More NHL: Bolts, Golden Knights Present Last Call For Massive Betting Values

John Carlson - Washington Capitals

A name that many may forget about is Carlson as a solid defenceman that has helped quarterback the Capitals blueline since being drafted back in 2008 with the 27th overall pick. The now 35-year-old defenceman has been a decent source of points throughout his career with 51 points this season and passing the 50-point mark for the seventh time in the last 11 seasons.

When making the playoffs, Carlson has also been one of the highest producing blueliners in the game with 40 points over his last 54 playoff games. He has no points through the Capitals' three games so far and I expect this to change over the next few games.

Ottawa Senators host Toronto Maple Leafs, who look to complete a series sweep with a 3-0 series lead heading into Game 4 on Saturday

Sunday night is the ultimate opportunity for NHL fans, with a loaded slate of thrilling matchups of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The game that sticks out is the Battle of Ontario between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, which promises to be a physical war of attrition.

The Buds look to close out the series and complete their first series sweep since 2001 when they disposed of the same Ottawa Senators in the first round.

For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our 25-12 record on our last 37 picks, including a 5-0 night during Game 1 of the Battle of Ontario.

More NHL: Battle of Ontario Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Futures for Maple Leafs versus Senators

All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Ottawa Senators Best Bets:

• Senators ML (-115)
• Over 5.5 goals (-118)
• Tim Stutzle Under 0.5 points (+122)
• Brady Tkachuk Over 0.5 points (-158)
• William Nylander Over 0.5 points (-162)

The Sens are staring down the barrel of five straight playoff losses with their last victory in the postseason being in 2017 when they lost in the Conference Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Toronto's last sweep in the playoffs was 2001 when they beat the Senators in the first round, which could point to history repeating itself on Saturday.Ottawa has been within reach of every game with two straight overtimes not going their way.

More NHL: Bolts, Golden Knights Present Last Call For Massive Betting Values

They're receiving little help on offence as captain Brady Tkachuk and veteran winger Claude Giroux have been forced to do the heavy lifting. Senators' regular season point leader Tim Stutzle hasn't been seen with just one point through three games. The assist he recorded was a touch along to a defenceman who fired off a shot that was tipped in front of the net, basically meaning he hasn't production virtually any offence at all.

The under for Stutzle has been really effective this series and we will continue to go to the well as the pick is still listed at plus money. However, I expect his linemate in Tkachuk to cause some damage. One of the biggest headlines of the series heading in was seeing how Tkachuk was going to adapt to the playoff environment after thriving at the Four Nations Face-Off yet he hasn't had a multi-point game so far.

We were expecting more of a performance similar to Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov, who has seven points through three playoff games. It should finally boil over Saturday as Brady will be giving it his all to prevent his team from being eliminated.

Despite the over not hitting for us in game three, I think we go back to it as the numbers are hard to go against with six or more goals in 18 of their last 25 matchups at Canadian Tire Centre. The Buds should give a lot of push back and I expect it to come from Leafs leading goal scorer, Williiam Nylander.

People have forgotten cause of the team's success that Nylander has just one goal in this series in the opener. The Swedish winger entered the series with nine goals and six assists for 15 points in his last 16 games against the Senators. He also recorded 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points over his last 26 games.

More Hockey: Top NHL Prospect Expected to Join Michigan Wolverines Next Season

Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights offer unforeseen value heading into back half of first round series that shouldn't go ignored

The Stanley Cup Playoffs offer many twists and turns with come-from-behind wins, unforeseen upsets and plenty of opportunities to cash in on some massive values.

We see many already listed on sportsbooks after most series enter their fourth games. It happens often where teams can go down 2-0 or 2-1 early in the series and sportsbooks completely write teams off, which we can look to exploit.

All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.

More NHL: Battle of Ontario Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Futures for Maple Leafs versus Senators

Tampa Bay Lightning - Eastern Conference Champions (+2000)

Winning four of their next five games is a tough challenge for the Bolts, especially with four of those matchups on the road. Still, it's far from impossible — just last season, the Dallas Stars bounced back after losing the first two games of their series at home, reeling off four straight wins to clinch and move on to the second round.

If anyone could do it, it's the Bolts as they have the league's top scorer this season in Nikita Kucherov and are long overdue for a swing in their direction when it comes to this matchup. They've dropped six of their last seven playoff matchups versus Florida, dating back to last season and would like to renew their playoff success that saw them reach three straight Stanley Cup Finals just three seasons ago.

The Lightning will likely be without 35-goal scorer Brandon Hagel after he interfered with Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov for a mean body check that potentially hurt the Finnish centre. Tampa will need their star players to produce as you see around the league, other teams like the Wild feature dominating top lines that could change the outlook of a game.

Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel and Kucherov all sitting with one point each so far while forwards Anthony Cirelli and Yanni Gourde still haven't found the scoresheet. I expect a massive surge of production from this bunch that will need to reclaim some stability in this series with a Game 3 win that will certainly see these odds drop exponentially, so get in while you can. A subtle $10 bet on Tampa would pay out a staggering $200 or 20-to-1 payout.

More NHL: Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Future Options

Vegas Golden Knights - Western Conference Champions (+650)

The Golden Knights are most certainly not out of their series with the Wild after dropping two straight games and their odds have dropped to a pretty great place. After being listed as the favourites to win the West following Game 1 of their series, they now sit with the fifth-best odds.

This most certainly is a play as the Golden Knights have proven to be a resilient team with the experience of a Stanley Cup win just two seasons ago. They are only one game down in their series and could even things up and plummet these odds back to Vegas being the favourites at odds somewhere around +300 to +400 by Saturday night.

Minnesota shouldn't be counted out of this series but they are just a wild card team compared to a Vegas team that won the Pacific Division title. We most certainly won't see odds like this again unless the Golden Knights are put in a position where they are truly in trouble and not worth taking a look at anyway. 

More Hockey: Top NHL Prospect Expected to Join Michigan Wolverines Next Season

The LA Kings host the Edmonton Oilers face-off for game two of their first round series following thriller in series-opener

The Oilers and Kings came together for a thrilling game one that Edmonton almost came back from a four goal deficit but were staved off by a late game winner from LA centre Philip Danault.

Edmonton will look to come back and respond with a road win to even up the series while LA looks to take a commanding 2-0 lead. 

More NHL: Edmonton Oilers vs LA Kings Round 4 Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Future Options

For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our 18-5 record on our last 23 picks, including a 5-0 record on Sunday for the Maple Leafs-Senators game one picks. 

All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly. 

Edmonton Oilers vs Los Angeles Kings Best Bets:

• Oilers Over 2.5 goals (-146)
• Oilers ML (+106)
• Trevor Moore Over 0.5 points (+138) 

It's been a while since the Oilers have had a full unit with Leon Draisaitl, Trent Frederic, Zach Hyman and Jake Walman all returning from injuries for game one.

It was evident through the first period, where the Kings took advantage of a discombobulated Oilers team that had lines playing together for the first time in game action since early April. 

More NHL: Battle of Ontario Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Futures for Maple Leafs versus Senators

LA scored two quick goals that kept Edmonton behind early and then continued to add with two more in the second period but once everything start to click things looked scary for the Kings. 

Edmonton started to receive production from all four forward lines with Connor McDavid and top line winger, Zach Hyman, both getting on the board. Second-line centre Leon Draisaitl also added a goal as well as third- and fourth-line forwards Mattias Janmark, Trent Frederic and Jeff Skinner all contributing for the Oilers' second goal. 

Things started to click and the Kings weren't ready for it and I expect a similar result on Wednesday. LA has not had much tape to watch on these units and likely can't gameplan accordingly. The Oilers pierced hot goaltender Darcy Kuemper for five goals and I expect them to do it again. 

More NHL:Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Future Options

LA will likely respond to the Oilers offence and I expect it to come from a surprising source in Trevor Moore. The third-line winger helped Danault get on the board and the favor should be returned especially with Moore's goal drought reaching seven games. 

Danault is hot with five points over his last five games and should stay that way thanks to Stuart Skinner allowing four or more goals in three of his last five starts. 

Breaking down the best value bets, futures to take and strategies to look out for ahead of the first round matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals

The Montreal Canadiens scratched and clawed their way into the postseason only to be greeted by the top team in the East in the Washington Capitals. Unlike the Battle of Ontario or round four of the Oilers and Kings, this is a matchup we don't get to see too often. 

Washington has met Montreal just once in the first round of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, where the Habs overcame a 3-1 deficit to win the series in seven games.

This series could go seven games once again as the Caps have lost four of their final six games since Alex Ovechkin became the NHL's all-time leading scorer. 

This series promises to be a thrilling showdown, headlined by the clash between the Canadiens’ rising Russian star, Ivan Demidov, and the greatest Russian hockey player of all time, Alex Ovechkin, leading the Capitals.

More NHL:Predicting Which Wild Card Team Can Upset Top Divisional Seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs

All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.

Nick Suzuki - Series Leading Goal Scorer (+1000)

If you've kept up with the Habs hot streak since the Four Nations Face-Off, you would be aware of how prolific Montreal captain Nick Suzuki has been.

After being snubbed from Team Canada, the London, Ontario native has been red hot with the fourth-most points during that span with 37 through 26 games. His 15 goals during this time had his name among the likes of David Pastrnak, Artemi Panarin and Jason Robertson. 

Suzuki finished the season with eight goals over his final ten games and could easily continue scoring against a slumping Capitals defence. Since Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's record, Washington has struggled to find the same motivation going into every game especially on the defensive end. 

The Capitals once-top three defence has now managed a 4.25 goals against average in their final 12 games and could struggle against a blazing hot Habs team.

Suzuki has the second-most career playoff points of anyone on Montreal with 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points through 32 postseason games. 

More NHL:The Battle of Ontario Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Futures for Maple Leafs versus Senators

Habs +1.5 - Series Spread (+106) or Habs +2.5 (-250)

Washington has a notable history of struggling in the playoffs with a long standing rivalry with the Pittsburgh Penguins that they eventually overcame to win their franchise's first Stanley Cup in 2019. 

However, since then they've found themselves in a similar problem as the Toronto Maple Leafs with severe troubles making it out of the first round. Since their Stanley Cup win, the Capitals haven't won a series in fact with five straight losses in the first round. 

This bolds well for a Montreal team that looks to extend the history of a wild card team advancing. Since introducing the current playoff format, a wild card team has advanced to the second round in seven of the last ten seasons.

The Blues, Wild and Senators are all behind in their respective series with the Habs looking like the best available option.

More NHL:Edmonton Oilers vs LA Kings Round 4 Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Future Options

We must not forget that this Montreal team has more experience than we expect as they went to the Stanley Cup finals just a few years ago in 2021.

Suzuki and other young players gained valuable experience then and it should help propel them to keeping this series closer than people may expect.

I like the idea of adding the Habs series spread at +2.5 and parlaying it with the Carolina Hurricanes to down the New Jersey Devils in five or six games at -370 odds.

The Canes have won at least one playoff series in six straight seasons and when added with Montreal, gives us a very solid parlay with -129 odds.

More NHL:Top NHL Prospect Expected to Join Michigan Wolverines Next Season

Toronto Maple Leafs host Ottawa Senators in thrilling game one of their first round matchup on Sunday

Sunday night is the ultimate opportunity for NHL fans, with a loaded slate of thrilling matchups on day two of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The game that sticks out is the Battle of Ontario between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, which promises to be a physical war of attrition. 

Both teams don't like each other as they meet for the 172nd time with Sunday being their fifth meeting in the postseason. Toronto holds an all-time record of 16-8 fuelled by four straight series wins. 

For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our 13-5 record on our last 18 picks and our 18-6 record on our last 24 underdog picks. 

All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly. 

More NHL:Battle of Ontario Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Futures for Maple Leafs versus Senators

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Ottawa Senators Best Bets:

• Maple Leafs ML (-170)
• Over 5.5 goals (-108)
• Mitch Marner or Brady Tkachuk anytime goal (-120)
• Mitch Marner Over 1.5 points (+172)
• Tim Stutzle Under 0.5 points (-104)

The Senators haven't made the postseason since 2017 when they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Ottawa has struggled to put together a quality team since but this team looks very different with cornerstone players in Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle as well as a solid goaltender in former Vezina trophy winner Linus Ullmark. 

They will be more competitive than people believe in this series as they have the best odds of any wild card team to advance to the second round at +164 odds.

More NHL:Edmonton Oilers vs LA Kings Round 4 Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Future Options

Ottawa should keep things close to start off this one as they'll be lead by Tkachuk, who has been vocal about his love for the big moments like Sunday night. 

The Senators captain has never played in the postseason before but I would expect a similar performance to his showing at the Four Nations where he recorded three goals in four games. His winger Tim Stutzle on the other hand, may suffer from the physicality of play in the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

Many hockey fans have heavily criticised Mitch Marner and other smaller-sized players for struggling to produce in the postseason as they can put up solid numbers but can't make an impact defensively.

Marner has taken a massive step forward this season but Stutzle has started to make headlines for getting pushed around. 

The German winger will get his first taste of the playoffs and I expect him to struggle. At 192 pounds, he may get pushed off the puck by bigger players like Auston Matthews (217 pounds), Matthew Knies (227 pounds) or Brandon Carlo (220 pounds). 

This is becoming a common belief as Stutzle is listed with very low odds to even get a point at -122 which is surprising for a the Senators top scorer. I expect Tkachuk will get on the board but not Stutzle. 

Marner should get on the board as he excels in game one's with four goals and five assists for nine points over his last first-round game one's.

Elite goaltending has brought the over/under down to 5.5 for this one despite these two having a history of high-scoring affairs with six or more goals in 16 of their last 25 matchups.

The under has hit in two of their four matchups this season but I expect another high-scoring affair as the nerves of the playoffs should get the better of a couple players and will leave holes for offence to pierce through. 

More NHL: Predicting Which Wild Card Team Can Upset Top Divisional Seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs

The over hit in both playoff games yesterday with the Devils Canes matchup today being the first to go under. The Leafs and Sens should continue the trend and add excitement to this series with a shootout to open things up. 

Toronto will have home-ice to kick things off plus have the advantage of more experience in the playoffs that should carry them to a series-opening victory in game one. 

A value bet to look at would be depth forward David Kampf scoring for the Maple Leafs. The 30-year-old Czech winger isn't known for being an elite goal scorer after recording 31 goals over the last four season with Toronto.

More Hockey:Top NHL Prospect Expected to Join Michigan Wolverines Next Season

However, he has done well in the playoffs with goals in two of the last three first round game one's for the Maple Leafs. He may not be in the lineup but if he is, he's worth a look. 

Breaking down the best value bets, futures to take and strategies to look out for ahead of the first round matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings

The Oilers and Kings battle for the fourth straight time in the first round. Edmonton has claimed all three series so far with LA desperately looking to get out of the shadow of their big brother. It's been a long time coming as the Oilers hold an all-time 36-18 playoff record with six straight series wins over the Kings dating back to 1989.

Things will most likely get heated after last year's first round matchup saw one game reach 92 penalty minutes as a flurry of brawls broke out in the third period after the Oilers went up 6-1 in Game three. LA looks like they'll have the best chance yet to get over the Edmonton hump after finishing with four more points and securing home ice advantage that could go far for a Kings team that has the best home record in the NHL at 31-6-4 through 41 games.

 More NHL: The Battle of Ontario Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Futures for Maple Leafs versus Senators

It should make for a thrilling series with some of the best players in the world on display like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Anze Kopitar. It should make for must-see tv and a series of games that any hockey fan won't want to miss. We want to add to your viewing enjoyment by providing a couple betting options that should enhance the viewing experience as you win some money along the way.

All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.

LA Kings +1.5 (-178)

Edmonton has been plagued by injuries down the final stretch of the season with a 14-13-1 record over their last 28 games which places them behind the likes of the Sabres, Utah Hockey Club and Flames during that span. It's not great to enter the postseason playing worse than some non-playoff teams but the Oilers did manage to win seven of their last ten games with McDavid and Draisaitl battling injuries.

More NHL: Predicting Which Wild Card Team Can Upset Top Divisional Seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Edmonton will also be without forward Evander Kane and possibly Zach Hyman, who is day-to-day with their biggest loss being key blueliner Mattias Ekholm. The Kings certainly don't have the same level of high-end talent that the Oilers have but LA has been playing as a cohesive unit for most of the season with almost no injuries.

Kuemper does his best HOLTBY impression 🤯👑Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper robs Seattle Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz with an unbelievable stick save reminiscent of Braden Holtby's miraculous s...

The Kings have also handled the Oilers through their season series with a 3-1-0 record, a 12 to four goal ratio and netminder Darcy Kuemper earning back-to-back shutouts in the final two matchups. This series should feature many under games like most LA Kings games are and it should keep them in this series to the very end.

Betting Strategies: Rely On Elite Goaltending

Under bets have been a regular for us and the Kings as they secured the second-best goals against average this season at 2.48 that improves to 1.98 when playing at home. This should keep almost every one of these games low-scoring with four of their last six Kings-Oilers matchups totalling under six goals.

I expect Kuemper to play the biggest role in this after going on a tear through his final 16 starts of the season with a league-best 13-3-0 record, a 1.27 goals against average and a .946 save percentage. The last time Kuemper was in the postseason was the 2022 Playoffs, where he helped lift the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup with a 10-4-0 record and a 2.57 goals against average. He should be a difference maker for this team but also don't count out the goaltender in the opposing crease.

Many Oiler fans having been doubting Stuart Skinner once again after finishing with a 2.81 goals against average but a .896 save percentage this season. If the Edmonton native can dial back in to what he accomplished last postseason, we should see almost all these games go under as Skinner finished with a 14-9 record and a 2.45 goals against average. 

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