Stanley Cup playoffs - How to bet Oilers-Avs and Lightning-Rangers

The final four teams for the Stanley Cup playoffs are set after the New York Rangers eliminated the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 on Monday night. They'll face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference final starting Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Colorado Avalanche host the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Western Conference final Tuesday night. Here are some betting options for the penultimate round of the playoffs.

Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.

Game 1 line: Avs -180

Total: 7 goals

Wyshynski's pick: Avalanche -1.5 games over Oilers (-115)

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What a fun series. Nathan MacKinnon swears that it's more than just him vs. Connor McDavid, and he's right. It's him and Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar and Devon Toews vs. McDavid. Coach Jared Bednar hasn't shied away from going power vs. power and putting the MacKinnon line and his top defensive pairing out against the McDavid line in the regular season. If it comes down to depth vs. depth to determine the series, the Avalanche have a clear advantage, especially with the way Nazem Kadri is playing. The Avs are on a mission and just took out a St. Louis team in six games that was better, top to bottom, than Edmonton. The shortest odds are on this series ending in five games (+300). Whether it's in five or six, I'm comfortable laying the 1.5 games.

Game 1 line: Lightning -125

Total: 5.5 goals

Watch live on ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET

Wyshynski's pick: Rangers +1.5 games over Lightning (-120)

The goaltending duel between Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy and New York's MVP candidate Igor Shesterkin could be one for the ages. They're at the heart of what could either be a long