The NHL Playoffs second round kicks off on Tuesday with a couple of teams that a few weeks ago were not expected to be here, but that is part of the beauty of playoff hockey. The Panthers and Maple Leafs have each won high-scoring series, while the Kraken and Stars won the low-scoring series. If those trends hold true, we’re in store for another long and entertaining second round. The high-scoring trends of Florida-Toronto give their player props better value.
If you are looking to have some action yourself, here are our favorite NHL player prop bets for Tuesday’s schedule. You can also check out our NHL picks for each of today’s games.
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The Maple Leafs finally got over the hump of the first round and as expected, Auston Matthews was a major reason why. Matthews led the team with 5 goals in the series as part of his 9 points in 6 games. All 5 goals came in Games 3-6 of the series, so he is riding a 4-game goal streak. As the games became more and more important, Matthews showed up. Now that Toronto is finally in the second round and one step closer, their foot should be fully on the gas. The incentive and chip on the shoulder speaks for itself and it certainly does not hurt that that the physical talent matches the chip on the shoulder, and Matthews has a heck of a supporting case.
He centers the Leafs’ top line, currently between William Nylander and rookie Matthew Knies, who has more than held his own thus far. Matthews is also on the top power-play unit with Mitch Marner, who led Toronto with 11 points against Tampa, plus John Tavares, Ryan O’Reilly and Morgan Reilly. The Maple Leafs’ matchup against the Panthers appears likely to be a high-scoring series. Both teams were top 9 in the NHL in goals scored per game, and the Panthers did not excel in goal prevention. The over was prominent in both teams’ opening series. It would not be surprising to see those trends continue based on the matchup alone. In high-scoring games, it is all but a formality that Matthews will be involved.
Check out our Panthers vs Maple Leafs Same Game Parlay
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Similar to Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk was also a massive reason why his team won in the first round as he co-led the team with 5 goals. What gives the power-play prop value is that Tkachuk is a massive piece of the Panthers’ power play and the chances that this game could get chippy. Someone could point to any number of factors that drove the Panthers to beat a historically good Bruins team in round 1. But arguably the biggest factor was their toughness. This Panthers team is arguably the biggest bully left in the playoffs. If they can get the Maple Leafs off their game and drag them into a battle of toughness, Toronto could take avoidable penalties.
The Maple Leafs took 8 penalties in game 1 against the Lightning. They were getting beaten, they were frustrated and several players lost their cool. Maybe they will not take 8 penalties again, but it would not be out of the question that Toronto takes some liberties on this Florida team that thrives in that type of chaos. The Panthers have taken the 2nd-most penalties thus far in the playoffs and somehow got away with it. They play the game on the edge and will look to drag their opponents into that style. Tkachuk is fantastic on the power play and his already good chances of tallying a point would be amplified with each power play the Panthers receive.
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