The 2022 Stanley Cup Finals are finally here and it will be the Colorado Avalanche taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning. The NHL betting odds have the Avalanche as the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, but the Lightning are looking for their third-straight title.
You will find a long list of NHL expert picks as to who will win this series, but that’s not the only way to get in on the action. You can also make prop bets for the Stanley Cup Finals, and those will be some popular NHL betting picks.
Here are some of the top Stanley Cup Finals betting props to make.
Picking the Conn Smythe Winner
Prop and future bets tend to run together when making NHL betting picks, especially at this point of the year. Not only can you make a bet on which team will ultimately win the Stanley Cup, but you can also place a wager on the Conn Smythe Trophy winner.
This award takes into account the entire postseason and some players are clearly ahead of the rest. You also want to consider what team you think will win the title with this bet, because the Conn Smythe usually goes to the winning team’s best player.
Cale Makar (+185) and Nathan MacKinnon (+240) are the two betting favorites, and one of those players will likely win if the Avalanche take home the title. Tampa Bay has both Andrei Vasilevskiy and Nikita Kucherov with odds at +440, and are really the only options from that team.
Makar might be the betting favorite entering the series, but this is MacKinnon’s award to lose.
Goal Specials
If you pay attention to NHL betting stats, you will notice that player goals and player points are always a major focus. Here are three goal special bets that you can make on the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals.
Nathan MacKinnon Series Goals: Over/Under 2.5
Nathan MacKinnon comes into the Stanley Cup Finals with 11 goals so far in the postseason, and that has been done in just 14 total games. MacKinnon can score goals in a hurry, and he is the one skater to take a close look at when it comes to player goals.
If Colorado is going to win the series then you should expect a big series from MacKinnon. Because the Avalanche star is capable of scoring three goals in any one game, you have to take the over with this prop bet.
Colorado Series Totals Goals: Over/Under 16.5
The Colorado Avalanche are averaging 4.6 goals per game in the playoffs, but it’s not always easy to score goals against Tampa Bay. It’s still hard to see the Avalanche scoring less than three goals per game, and that is where this bet will get interesting.
If this series goes at least six games then it seems pretty easy that the Avalanche would score at least 17 goals. It might not last that long though, and that could have an impact on this bet.
Tampa Bay will challenge Colorado in this series, and that will give the Avalanche an extra game, and will help this bet go over.
Tampa Bay Series Total Goals: Over/Under 14.5
Tampa Bay is scoring just three goals per game so far in the playoffs, and they have had some games where the offense really struggled. The Lightning don’t want this series to turn into a track meet, but Tampa Bay will have to score it well on the offensive end.
This is another bet where it will depend on the length of the series, but Tampa Bay is going to have at least one game where they score two goals or less. Take the under on this bet.
Series Correct Score
Picking the correct series score in the Stanley Cup Finals is a great option as well. Every possible scenario is available as the series begins, but options will be taken away based on the results after each matchup.
According to the NHL Betting odds, the most likely scenario is a Colorado Avalanche win in either five or seven games (+410). The most likely scenario in which Tampa Bay wins the series is taking the Lightning in six games (+570).
Colorado is winning this series, and six games feels like the perfect amount. You can get that prop betting option at +440, which is pretty good odds.
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