Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals is finally here. A daunting matchup between the Rangers and the Panthers takes place tonight. The Panthers are slight favourites at (-115.). The public seems to be all over the home dog with the Rangers (-105) getting 72% of the bets placed thus far according to Draftkings Sportsbook.
Rangers vs Panthers Betting Preview for Game 1
Game Overview
If you’re looking for a juicer line, a sprinkle on the Panthers puckline at (+220) an empty netter at the end is always in the cards. The hope is the Panthers are ready to play game 1 after the Bruins drummed them 5-1 in game 1 last round. Obviously the biggest thing we are fading here is that Shesterkin just completely stands on his head at home and steals the game.
The pick: Panthers (-115)
Player Props
When you look into player props the first thing you look for is time on ice. Time on ice is king. Following that, diving into the powerplay units and how they are shaping up before the game and if anyone is getting bumped on or bumped off. That being said most teams in the playoffs really ride their top unit giving them around a minute and a half of the powerplay if not more.
Matthew Tkachuk Over 3.5 shots (-105)
Tkachuk is going to be HUMMING tonight. Eastern Conference Finals, game 1, Madison Square Garden, the bigger the moment the better Tkachuk plays. 3.5 is a big number for sure, however Tkachuk has gone over in 7 of 12 playoff games thus far. Time on ice will be no issue if the game is close Tkachuk will be around 18-22 minutes. With the game line being so close I give a boost to overs as well with a possible overtime looming.
SGP (same game parlay) Reinhart anytime point + Barkov anytime point (-105)
This one is pretty simple. Aleksander Barkov is the most complete player in this series on either side. He centres Sam Reinhart and they play on the top powerplay together. Reinhart is generally the trigger man on the powerplay. If you like the higher odds SGPs adding Brandon Montour anytime point juices the line to (+242). Montour is the quarterback on that top powerplay and gets plenty of minutes regardless.
SGP Trocheck/Panarin/Lafreniere anytime point (+214)
The pick here is for the Rangers fans. This line is going to need to drive the bus for New York. Artemi Panarin is obviously a gamebreaker when he is on, whereas Vincent Trocheck is more or less the Rangers version of Barkov. He plays a strong 200 foot game and plays the right way. Alexis Lafreniere is really what boosts the odds on this parlay. He is not on the top powerplay but he plays with Panarin and Trocheck five on five. Lafreniere saw his minutes spike to 18 minutes in game 6.
Main Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
