The Eastern Conference Finals will head back to New York for Game 5 on Thursday night.
Current NHL playoff odds have the Lightning as -155 favorites to win the series. In addition to series odds, prop bets are also a good alternative to NHL betting lines.
Here are a few to consider for Thursday.
In Which Period Will the Most Goals be Scored? 2nd Period (+170)
The second period has had the most goals scored twice through four games in this series. However, a coin flip is not enough to place a bet on (or at least it shouldn’t be). The Rangers are second in second-period goals with 25, five behind the Edmonton Oilers.
New York is fifth with 1.39 goals in the second frame on a per-game basis. The Lightning are not as impressive in the second, sitting seventh with 13 second-period goals and 0.87 per game. Still, 13 goals match the amount Tampa Bay has scored in the first period.
Even though the third period has been the Lightning’s best for goals, consider both teams’ cumulative production. The Rangers and Lightning combine for 38 second-period goals in the second, more than any other period. In this series, the third period has had one more goal than the second, but the third-period prop pays significantly lower for a one-goal difference.
At +170, there is value in the second period seeing the most goals in Game 5.
Time of First Goals: 00:01 – 08:59 (-110)
This prop paid off in Game 4, and there is no reason not to expect it to pay off again.
The first goals in Game 1, Game 2, and Game 4 came within the first three minutes of the opening frame. Chris Kreider‘s Game 1 goal happened at 1:11 of the first period, while Nikita Kucherov’s Game 2 goal was only 2:41 into the contest, and Pat Maroon found the back of the net in Game 4 at 2:38.
Game 5 might be a tighter contest because of the stakes, but one of these teams often surprises the other early. As long as this prop keeps hitting, it’s a good idea to give it another go.
NHL Parlay Picks at BetMGM
BetMGM has you covered not only during the Stanley Cup playoffs, but throughout the NHL season. But the NHL playoffs are the perfect time for making NHL parlay picks in between examining the latest Stanley Cup betting odds.
