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The 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs get underway on Monday night with four games on the schedule. The most notable matchups include the Tampa Bay Lightning beginning their title defense on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Minnesota Wild host the St. Louis Blues in what should be a very competitive series in the Western Conference bracket. Let’s take a look at some betting splits courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook for opening night of the NHL playoffs this season.
NHL playoff betting splits, May 2
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Puck line splits favor the Lightning and Blues pretty heavily. That means the public is anticipating tighter contests, which is somewhat of a precursor to looking at the under as a play in both those games. The over/under total for each is at 6.5 goals and most of the handle in Bolts-Leafs is on the under. A slightly higher percentage of bets are coming in on the under in St. Louis-Minnesota, but most of the handle is on the over. Scoring has been up overall in the NHL this season. Usually in the playoffs that isn’t the case.
Very few bettors are giving the Los Angeles Kings a shot against the Edmonton Oilers in the series opener. Blues-Wild and Bolts-Leafs are all over the place with betting percentage and handle percentage swinging opposite ways. There’s a lot of value on underdogs just looking at the matchups. The Bruins are getting a higher percentage of handle on the ML along with Tampa Bay. Same goes for St. Louis.
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