One cannot make this up. The outrageousness of having faith in Mark Stone was not irrational. Give the road teams credit on Tuesday night. Washington took the lead, then Carolina dominated. Vegas scored twice via Mark Stone. Then, Edmonton took over. Both road teams were victorious and honestly deserved to win.
It is time to quickly examine what bets are out there for Wednesday! Please note that both games are on ESPN over the air.
Florida And Toronto Still Want To Exchange Pleasantries
The Toronto Maple Leafs stayed above the fray for most of Monday night, and it paid off in a 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers. Florida almost came back from a 4-1 deficit but ran out of time.
Sergei Bobrovsky and Joseph Woll are the projected goalies for the respective sides. Anthony Stolarz was hit in the head by a puck early in Game 1 and then hit by Sam Bennett. Concussion spotters should have pulled Stolarz much sooner. Hopefully, he will progress properly through the protocol and return quickly.
Here is the problem. At press time, Stolarz was not completely ruled out. What is a bettor to do? Talk of revenge and putting Ryan Reeves into the lineup is all moot here. People want to know. The assumption is that Woll plays Game 2 and Toronto takes it from there.
The Maple Leafs’ best players showed up on Wednesday. William Nylander set the tone with an early goal (two goals, one assist) and added to it. Matthew Knies was the utility player who added a goal and an assist.
Now, our concern lies in Florida. With Aaron Ekblad back in the lineup, what happens in Game 2? Ekblad had a rough time against Tampa Bay before getting suspended. Does he fare better against Toronto? The Panthers finish well. After all, their physicality did tire Toronto out a little.
Game 2 Best Bet: Florida Panthers to win the third period (+130 via BetMGM)
Dallas And Winnipeg Venture Forth
So, the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets arguably should not have been here. Both teams were down two goals in the third period at home in Game 7. What happened next over both nights was two for the ages.
Jake Oettinger has been very good in net, while Connor Hellebuyck was letting in 10+ goals more than expected (worst among playoff starting goaltenders). Winnipeg has several players with uncertain statuses heading into Game 1 (Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey, etc.). Dallas has a few themselves (see Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson).
Also, does Mikko Rantanen cool off? He had 11 points in the final three games of the Colorado series. Rantanen placed Dallas on his back and did something legends do. For those old enough, John Druce of the Washington Capitals immediately comes to mind, or even Patrick Sundstrom of the New Jersey Devils.
Home is everything for Winnipeg here. Maybe Connor Hellebuyck can exhale now. If Winnipeg gets some reinforcements back, the Jets can strike first here.
For the series, stay tuned as we try to ride the ups and downs of live series betting.
Our Pick: Winnipeg to win in regulation (+155 via DraftKings)
Wednesday Night Shot Into The Dark
Mark Stone saved the month, maybe. Stone scored two goals in the first period, including the first one, which felt like a 35-to-1 bonanza. The notion of wagers hitting like this is very rare. What happened in Vegas over the final two periods may have been even more strange.
With two games again to consider, this is more about searching and researching. There is a good chance one of these games goes into overtime. Toronto knew overtime well with three straight against Ottawa. Winnipeg went well in double overtime just to advance to this point.
Florida-Toronto is +275 to head to bonus hockey, while Dallas-Winnipeg is +287. Another Adam Lowry moment on Wednesday night would be dramatic. We chose Dallas and Winnipeg to play beyond 60 minutes.
Pick: Dallas and Winnipeg to play bonus hockey (+287 via Caesars)
