Day four of the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs has arrived and there are eight teams in action tonight. It is Game 2 for Devils at Hurricanes, Senators at Maple Leafs and Wild at Golden Knights, and Game 1 for the Panthers and Lightning. Each home team is a favorite on the Moneyline and each game total is set at O/U 5.5 goals on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Let’s dive into my favorite bets for tonight’s four-game NHL Playoffs slate.
OTT Senators at TOR Maple Leafs
Over 5.5 Total Goals (-125)
Game 1 featured eight goals and these two teams ranked top five in goals per game across the final two months of the regular season. Toronto was much more consistent offensively, and that showed in Game 1 when it netted six goals against Linus Ullmark. The goaltender matchup will likely be the same in Game 2 and the NHL playoffs have featured some high-scoring matchups. The Leafs should have no issue lighting the lamp often in front of their home crowd and I’d expect some more offensive juice from the Sens in this one.
FLA Panthers at TB Lightning
TB Lightning to Win in Regulation (+125)
These teams had polar opposite endings to the regular season. Tampa Bay was one of the hottest teams over the final 20 games, averaging the third-most goals per game as well as top-10 power play and penalty kill units. Florida struggled mightily during that span, averaging a league-low 2.06 goals per game and posting a 9-10-1 record. The Panthers may have the best top three in the league––Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk––but Tkachuk is a game-time decision. Carter Verhaeghe aka Playoff Verhaeghe may help but the Bolts are a deadly squad that is very deep and has received top-tier goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Amalie Arena will be buzzin’ and Tampa Bay’s stars will thrive off of the atmosphere.
Brayden Point Anytime Goalscorer (+180)
Brayden Point led the team in goals this season with 42 and has found recent success against Sergei Bobrovsky and the Panthers. Point scored in both home games and one of two road games against the Panthers this season. In last year’s postseason against virtually the same Panthers squad, he netted two goals in five games. When you’re sharing a line with Nikita Kucherov, the scoring chances are infinite and Point has benefitted massively. Florida isn’t coming into this series with much momentum and Tampa Bay’s top two lines had been cookin’ over the final month of the season. Plus, the Panthers allowed the seventh-most goals per game to opposing centers.
MIN Wild at VGK Golden Knights
VGK Golden Knights Puck Line -1.5 (+120)
This feels like the most lopsided first-round series. Vegas is simply better. It ranked inside the top 10 in 5v5 goal percentage all season long and allowed the third-fewest goals per game. The Wild struggled to stay afloat without Kirill Kaprizov for an extended time amid goaltending lapses from Filip Gustavsson. The Golden Knights averaged the fifth-most goals per game, which was even better at home, and have the tools to take advantage of a leaky Wild defense. Vegas also fields the second-best power play unit and cashed a power play goal in Game 1. Minnesota fields the third-worst penalty kill. The Wild will already struggle to win the 5v5 game––if penalties are common, they’re likely for in a long game.
