The Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Toronto Maple Leafs for Game 1 of their opening round. The two teams split the regular-season series, earning two wins each. This is where you’ll find some of the best prop bets available for tonight’s action.
William Nylander – Power Play Points (Over 0.5, +225)
The Leafs possess the best power play in the league heading into tonight’s playoff series, and they face the Lightning’s 11th-best penalty kill. During the regular season, the Leafs registered three power-play goals against Andrei Vasilevskiy, and two of them belonged to Nylander. Toronto’s first wave of the power play is deadly, so look for them to feast in the opening game in front of their home crowd.
In seven games last postseason, Nylander registered eight points and was by far the Leafs’ most productive player. Both Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews went missing in the first-round matchup against the Montreal Canadiens, but don’t expect that to be the case this time around. Nylander, with at least one power-play point tonight, brings back a decent return on your investment.
Morgan Rielly – Player Shots (Under 2.5, -160)
Quarterbacking the Leafs’ power play with Matthews on his opposite side, the belief is that they’ll always look to set up the 60-goal scorer for a quick one-time shot. With many weapons up front, Rielly is the least likely to take a shot on net. He opts to find open passing lanes to get the cycle started, allowing for his wingers to create lateral passes to get the goalie moving.
In four games against the Lightning this season, Rielly put seven pucks on net, including one game with four. He’s not known as a shooter, and in 32 playoff games dating back to the 2016-17 run, Rielly has yet to register a shot on goal. Go with the under on this one, as the trend is sure to continue.
Nikita Kucherov – Multi Goalscorers (2 or More, +1100)
Kucherov was limited to 47 games this season due to injury problems, but he’ll be ready to go in Game 1, similar to last year’s playoff run. He’s one of the most lethal scorers in the league and has two goals in two games against the Leafs during the regular season. Given how explosive the games have been between these two clubs, it’s not far-fetched to believe Game 1 will be open season for each team’s best goal scorers.
In the last five playoff runs, Kucherov has scored in the opening game of the first round, and twice he’s registered two goals. He’s electric during the regular season, but playoff hockey brings out the best in his talents. He’ll be a player to watch for this series and is sure to be a difference-maker.
Odds via Yahoo and BetMGM.
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