NHL betting odds are on the board for a light Thursday slate in Stanley Cup playoffs conference quarterfinal play. The marquee matchup features the Washington Capitals continuing their quest to stay alive against the New York Islanders in a prime-time Game 5.
Caesars sportsbooks provided insights on NHL opening lines and early line movement, sharp money and public betting for Thursday’s contests. Covers will update this action report with NHL sharp picks vs. public bets and line movement throughout the day.
NHL line movement
The Capitals put themselves in a 3-0 hole in their best-of-7 series against the Islanders, then found themselves trailing Game 4 2-0 just nine minutes in. But Washington rallied for a 3-2 victory to gain a little hope, and in fact, Caesars books opened the Caps -115 favorites for an 8 p.m. ET puck drop. New York is an even-money underdog.
In the only other Thursday matchup, the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames fire it up for Game 6. The Stars won the last two games to take a 3-2 series lead and can advance to the conference semifinals with a win in this 10:30 p.m. ET contest. Dallas opened a -125 favorite at Caesars, with Calgary +110, and as with the Islanders-Caps game, there was no line movement Wednesday night.
NHL sharp money
UPDATE 10 P.M. ET THURSDAY: PointsBet USA has the late game at Stars -125/Flames +105, and Patrick Eichner said there was small sharp action on the Flames at that price.
UPDATE 7 P.M. ET THURSDAY: "Notable sharp play on the Islanders +100 and Over 5 goals," PointsBet USA's Patrick Eichner said of tonight's first faceoff. The moneyline is now a -110 pick 'em, and the total is 5 (Over -136).
NHL public betting
UPDATE 10 P.M. ET THURSDAY: Stars-Flames is drawing two-way action at PointsBet USA. Eichner said Dallas is seeing 56 percent of tickets, but Calgary is drawing 55 percent of dollars bet on the moneyline.
UPDATE 7 P.M. ET THURSDAY: Eichner said the public is on the Islanders' side, fully demonstrated by the betting splits. New York is taking 73 percent of moneyline tickets and dollars against the Capitals at PointsBet USA.
UPDATE 5 P.M. ET THURSDAY: FanDuel Sportsbook is reporting bettors largely favor the Islanders on the moneyline, where they are currently modest -105 underdogs to the -115 Capitals. New York is taking 75 percent of tickets and 86 percent of dollars. The late game between the Stars and Flames is closer to two-way action at the moment.
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In the Covers Consensus, often indicative of public opinion, both Thursday matchups are getting two-way action. The underdog Islanders are landing 53 percent of early picks against the Capitals, while the favored Stars are drawing 54 percent of picks against the Flames.
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