NHL Betting Picks for Tuesday 4/23/24: Will the Lightning Cover Again in South Beach?

The Stanley Cup Playoffs roll on tonight with a batch of Game 2s as teams look to tie up some series.

Whether it's moneylines or total goals, there are plenty of ways to bet on the NHL action all season. It's a long 82-game campaign, meaning that the best selections of each night can be very different based on backup goalies coming into play, injuries that add up, and if teams are due for positive or negative swings.

Let's dive into the best bets for tonight.

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All NHL betting odds and totals are from the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. All advanced statistics are used from MoneyPuck.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.

NHL Best Bets

Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers

Lightning +1.5 (-178)

There's something about the Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoffs where you just don't want to count them out. That's how I'm feeling as we head into Game 2 between the Lightning and the Florida Panthers.

Tampa Bay almost pulled off the Game 1 upset but fell by a score of 3-2. This series is going to be a fight to the end because of the Lightning's experience in the playoffs, so I like them to cover tonight and again keep it close.

What the Lightning did so well all season was score goals. Tampa Bay ranked fifth in the NHL with 3.48 goals for per 60 minutes (GF/60). They did that better than the Panthers (3.20 GF/60) during the regular season. Florida has had one of the best offenses in shot volume, though, given the second-best Corsi per 60 minutes (CF/60) in the league at 67.88.

Thankfully, the Lightning do have one of the best defenses in hockey -- despite their goals against per 60 minutes (GA/60) average. Tampa had the eighth-best Corsi against per 60 minutes (57.59 CA/60). They should be able to keep things close with a tough Panthers team as a result. The expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60) for the Lightning sat at 3.03, a solid mark that should be counted on in these playoffs.

It's the playoffs. Every game is going to be close. Not only can the Lightning keep it there, but they can win tonight and even up the series.

Nashville Predators at Vancouver Canucks

Canucks ML (-154)

The Vancouver Canucks have been one of the best teams from start to finish this season -- and they've done a lot of their winning at home.

Vancouver had an impressive 27-9-5 record on home ice this season and are 1-0 so far in the playoffs. The Nashville Predators are a tough team, as they learned in Game 1, but I just like the Canucks too much to keep bringing it on their own ice.

At home, the Canucks had a 54.36 CA/60 -- the third-best in the NHL. To continue with their dominance at home, they held opponents to 2.40 GA/60 and 28.26 shots against per 60 minutes (SA/60). That just spells problems for the Predators, who got to the playoffs by being a good scoring team.

Nashville averaged 3.22 GF/60, good for 10th in the NHL. The Predators may not have much of an option against the Canucks, who have also scored at an elite rate with an even better 3.37 GF/60.

I believe in the Canucks to get a much-needed Game 2 win tonight to go up 2-0 in the series.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.