Opening Series Odds for Second Round of NHL Playoffs

• The series odds are set for round two of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs
• Colorado vs Dallas and Tampa Bay vs Boston highlight the matchups
• Read below for the round-two matchups and betting odds

Round two of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs is set to get underway on Saturday, August 22. Vegas, Colorado, Dallas, and Vancouver have advanced in the Western Conference, while Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Boston, and the New York Islanders have advanced in the East.

Will the chalk hold in round two or will the Canucks and the Islanders pull off further upsets? The better seed is favored in all but one of the four series.

Second-Round NHL Playoff Series Odds

Odds taken Aug. 21st.

Flyers, Bruins Are Beasts Of East

The No. 1-seeded Philadelphia Flyers and No. 6 New York Islanders and will be facing off in round two. The Flyers, who haven’t lost consecutive games since early January, have opened as -139 favorites over the Islanders.

Despite being one of the lower-scoring teams in the regular season, the Islanders exploded offensively in three meeting with the Flyers in 2019-20, winning all three games and outscoring Philadelphia 14-9.

The Flyers beat the Habs in six games to advance to round two, while the Islanders knocked off the Washington Capitals in five. Both teams have gotten strong goaltending performances in these playoffs. Philadelphia goaltender Carter Hart pitched two shutouts against the Habs and owns a .943 playoff save percentage , while Isles veteran Semyon Varlamov owns a .934 save percentage in nine starts this summer.

Game 3️⃣ SHUTOUT 🍩
Game 4️⃣ SHUTOUT 🍩

Carter Hart is on a roll in his first #StanleyCup Playoffs. @NHLFlyers | #AnytimeAnywhere pic.twitter.com/uIf0WSg5Ab

— #StanleyCup Playoffs on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) August 18, 2020

In the other Eastern Conference matchup, the No. 2 Tampa Bay Lightning and No. 4 Boston Bruins will be facing off in the second round of the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. The Lightning defeated the Bruins in five games in the 2018 playoffs. In four regular-season meetings between the two clubs this season, Tampa Bay won three times.

Despite the history, Tampa Bay has opened as +100 underdogs to the heavyweight Bruins. Boston had the best NHL record in the regular season (44-14-12) , but dropped to the fourth seed after going winless in the seeding round.

Tampa Bay advanced to round two by beating the Columbus Blues Jackets in five games, while the Bruins knocked off the Hurricanes in five. Jaroslav Halak has taken over goaltending duties for Boston after starter Tuukka Rask left the bubble to deal with a “family emergency”.

Knights, Avalanche Are Western Titans

In the West, the No. 2 Colorado Avalanche have opened as -195 favorites over the No. 3 Dallas Stars. The Avalanche are being listed as heavy favorites despite Dallas winning all four regular-season meetings between the two teams this season. Colorado did earn a 4-0 win over the Stars in the seeding round, however.

Led by Nathan MacKinnon, Nazem Kadri, and Mikko Rantanen, the Avalanche defeated the Coyotes in five games in round one, outscoring them 22-8. The Stars got past the Flames in six games thanks to an elite performance from young blueliner Miro Heiskanen and clutch goal scoring from Joe Pavelski and Denis Gurianov.

We'll see you soon, @Avalanche 👊 pic.twitter.com/McVdqcmYXU

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) August 21, 2020

This series will be a clash of elite offense and elite defense. The Avalanche lead all NHL teams this postseason with 3.88 goals-scored-per-game, while Dallas allowed a conference-leading 2.52  goals-against-per-game in the regular season.

In the other matchup, the No. 1 Vegas Golden Knights have landed the No. 5 Vancouver Canucks in round two. Vegas has dominated Vancouver since entering the league, posting an 8-0-2 all-time record vs the Canucks. It’s no surprise the Golden Knights have opened as heavy -275 favorites. They had no problem knocking off the Chicago Blackhawks in five games in round one.

The Canucks upset the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues in six games. Vancouver, led by a talented young offense and goalie Jacob Markstrom, will look to play spoiler to another Western Conference powerhouse.