Written by Graeme & Scott on Tuesday, April 14th, 2015
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In this article, we’re going to be previewing the Western Conference Playoffs and providing Western Conference Betting Tips.
Unlike all of the other tips articles on the site we will not be collaborating – instead, we will both be providing our own opinions and insight into each series. We learned this a few years ago – while together, we can work to provide winning betting tips on a daily basis – when it comes to some playoff series, we can often never come to a conclusion!
For each series, we will provide you our opinions, who we think will win the series, and how many games it will go. We’ll also list the best place to bet that series based on the odds. In some cases it’s a very small difference(0.02) but in other cases it’s 0.10 or even higher.
If you’re serious about making money, you’ll take advantage of the best odds. On top of that, most sportsbooks have bonuses too. Here are the sportsbooks we are using for odds comparison and what bonuses they offer:
Americans:
Bovada: 50% up to $250 free bet.
5Dimes: 50% to $520 new player reward.
Carbon Sports: $100 free bet, plus a, $10k NHL Bracket Challenge Everyone Should Enter.
Everyone Else:
Sports Interaction: 100% to $125 deposit bonus, plus exclusive $20 bet for Canadians with this link.
B365: 100% to $200 deposit bonus, plus various other bonuses for betting on mobile.
888 Sports: Multiple free bets, triple winnings on your first bet.
William Hill: 100% to $100 deposit bonus.
Pinnacle: No bonus, but offer the best odds the majority of the time.
Carbon Sports: $100 free bet, plus a, $10k NHL Bracket Challenge Everyone Should Enter.
Let’s get to it:
Blues vs Wild Playoff Series Betting Tips:
Scott: Another series that is going to be close and tough to predict. Both teams have solid goaltending but neither has any real playoff experience. But the Blues have what’s needed to win and that’s Defense and the Blues are stacked in that department. Blues in 6.
Graeme: Wild go into this off the back of a ridiculous second half of the season, going 28-9-3. Blues however, are the favourite to win the series at 1.68 odds. I am highly, highly conflicted. On one hand, it’s going to be bloody hard to beat Dubnyk. On the other hand, my MVP of the season has been Tarasenko. His ability to unlock defenses is amazing. I think the big thing for me is this – Dubnyk, no doubt has been amazing. But we’ve also seen in his history where he hasn’t been amazing, and one long extended streak isn’t enough for me to back him. I think the Blues in 5 sounds good. In saying that, this is such a tight series that I do also think there is value backing the Wild.
Blues vs Wild Best Odds:
Americans:
Blues to win series: 1.69 at 5Dimes
Wild to win series: 2.35 at Carbon Sports
Everyone Else:
Blues to win series: 1.69 at Pinnacle
Wild to win series: 2.25 at B365
Series ends on Game 5: 3.50 at B365
Series ends on Game 6: 3.00 at B365
Predators vs Blackhawks Playoff Series Betting Tips:
Scott: With news that Patrick Kane is way ahead of schedule and may be back as soon as round one, or even game one, is awesome news for the Hawks. The Preds had an amazing start to their season but it seems as though teams figured them out down the stretch. The ended the season going 6-11-3 in their final 20. The Hawks are a team who quietly put together a great year. And they added some depth at the deadline. When Kane comes back and if he looks good then the Hawks are a team that’s going deep. Hawks in 6.
Graeme: Chicago obviously have the pedigree. My main concern with them is motivation, and it’s something I feel they’ve been lacking a lot this season. But the Predators are here based on Rinnes performances earlier in the season. In the last couple of months he has been poor, as have they. The only way they can win is if Rinne returns to that ridiculous standing on his head form, and that’s not enough for me to bet on. Hawks in 5 for me.
Americans:
Blackhawks to win series: 1.74 at 5Dimes
Predators to win series: 2.30 at Carbon Sports
Everyone Else:
Blackhawks to win series: 1.76 at Pinnacle
Predators to win series: 2.25 at 888 Sports
Series ends on Game 5: 3.75 at Sports Interaction
Series ends on Game 6: 2.87 at William Hill
Ducks vs Jets Playoff Series Betting Tips:
Scott: Pavelec gets his first taste of playoff hockey. This is the Jets first trip to the postseason since rejoining the league. They are a big, strong team who is going to give the Ducks problems. But I think this comes down to experience. If I’m wrong in my prediction i’d be happy as I’m rooting for the Jets. Ducks in 6.
Graeme: This was one where, when discussing it, we both felt the same. We were leaning very strongly towards the Jets but we both admitted that was more Canadian bias than anything else. Jets are a physical team, but the Ducks are damn good, and I think skill will trump all here. I’m going to go for the sweep. Ducks in 4, but like Scott I hope I’ll be wrong.
Americans:
Ducks to win series: 1.65 at 5Dimes
Jets to win series: 2.50 at Carbon Sports
Everyone Else:
Ducks to win series: 1.66 at B365
Jets to win series: 2.45 at 888 Sports
Series ends on Game 4: 7.00 at B365
Series ends on Game 6: 3.00 at B365
Canucks vs Flames Playoff Series Betting Tips:
Scott: This is a tough series. The Flames were supposed to be rebuilding this year but the youngsters carried this team to the playoffs. The Canucks have goalie issues at the moment which is only going to work in the Flames favor. Plus the speed of the Flames is going to give the Canucks problems. Flames in 7.
Graeme: Canucks have the experience, but they’re also going into this with a lot of pressure. The Flames didn’t even expect to get here and now they’re here, surely able to play pressure free. The Flames speed is going to be huge, and they won’t have too much travel hell with B.C. being just a short trip away. I’ve liked the Flames all season, and I’ve talked a lot about the bets I’ve had on them throughout the season. It’s very likely that this is one step too far for them, but they matched up well with the Canucks in the regular season. Flames in 7,
Americans:
Flames to win series: 2.25 at Bovada
Canucks to win series: 1.71 at 5Dimes
Everyone Else:
Flames to win series: 2.25 at 888 Sports
Canucks to win series: 1.74 at Pinnacle
Series ends on Game 7: 3.00 at Sports Interaction
Back tomorrow with the East.
So you guys took Ducks here and Jets on sportsbettingtips?
5 different people over at SportsBettingTips and it’s a survey that decides the tips. Only I(not Scott) contribute – I guess the majority went for the Jets there. I voted Ducks.
I C thanks for clearing up the confusion.
Thanks for breaking down the numbers and deals offered by the sportsbooks.
The 14 experts at NHL.com have similar series picks.
Ana 11/14, Chi 12/14 but they’re almost 50/50 for Min/St.L and Van/Cal series. I think the Jets are capable of an upset. Both teams are well rounded both
physically and skilfully so the goalies role is huge. Pavelec finished the season with a triple Shutout but has no playoff experience and Boudreau hasn’t decided who his number 1 goalie is. That can’t be a good confidence booster for the team. Still an awesome series to watch. 🙂
Ah good to know. We didn’t even look at what experts were picking – we didn’t want that to affect our analysis any. Will look at that later, especially for the East as our decisions are vastly different there in some cases.
Yeah the no decisive goalie situation is big. I think the theory that goes with that is “both goalies will want to go out there and prove themselves” but rarely works out well.
Hi, what stake do you recommend to play bets? 1 unit for the victory in the series and 1/3 for the series?
Yeah something like that sounds good. Some books also offer the ability to pick what game the team will win – I’d go for 1/4 bets on that. But then I’m conservative when it comes to betting 🙂