The home team is even looking at the series with one win when the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs resumed on Thursday. The Washington Capitals, the top seed of the Eastern Conference, will host the Carolina Hurricane in Game 2 of the matchup, while the Vegas Golden Knights will face the Edmonton Oilers, who will be visiting in their second contest of the Western Conference Showdown.
Washington scored all three of his home games against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, wasting a third-term lead, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Hurricane at Capital One Arena at the opener of the two-round series. Defensive man Jacob Slavin scored the winning goal at 3:06 in an extra session for the hurricane who worked overtime in three of the last four contests.
The Golden Knights fell 2-2 at T-Mobile Arena this postseason, losing 4-2 on Tuesday. Captain Mark Stone gave Vegas a 2-0 lead with goals under 10 minutes of the game, but the Oilers halved the deficit late in the first period, scoring three times in the third, drawing the first blood of the series.
Edmonton won five consecutive games after losing the first two contests of his first round matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. The Reigned Western Conference Champion tracked each of these five games and entered the third period in four games.
Here are some worthy players to consider when putting on a prop bet in Thursday’s playoff game.
Best Benefits
Alex Ovechkin, Capitals: Always goal scorer (+165, BET365)
Ovechkin, the new all-time goalscoring leader in the NHL regular season, could not be converted into a series opener. He has not been to a back-to-back game without goals since March 11-13, and has only been to twice since late January. Ovechkin’s next goal will be the 77th of his postseason career. This will pass the legendary Mariorey Miu, who will be number 12 on the best playoff list of all time. The 39-year-old Russian superstar scored twice in three meetings with Carolina in 2024-25, netting four tallies during the 2019 seven-game postseason matches.
Dylan Stome, Capitals: 1+ Assist (+100, Fanduel)
Strom spent his career with 53 assists in 2024-25, playing at least one in four of Washington’s five first-round games against Montreal. The 28-year-old center is tied to sixth in the NHL with seven assists this postseason after accumulating just two in his first 13 career playoff contests. Strom recorded assists in four meetings with the Hurricanes in 2024-25, with 22 career regular season games and 11 assists for Carolina.
Conor McDavid, Oilers: Always goal scorer (+165, BET365)
The winner of Reigning Conn Smythe Trophy notched a pair of assists with the Golden Knights in Game 1 for their fourth multipoint performance in seven contests this postseason. However, his goalscoring drought reached four games after netting five tallies in seven playoff games dating back to last year’s Stanley Cup final. McDavid, the winner of the 2023 Maurice Richard Trophy, will score five times in Edmonton’s six-game loss to Vegas in the second round of the year, and will score one more after setting a six in the final four contests.
Leon Draisaitl, Oilers: 2+ Points (+122, Fanduel)
Draisaitl ranked fourth in the NHL and scored 12 points in seven games this postseason. The 29-year-old German announced his fourth multipoint performance in the series opener, scoring one goal and setting another. Draisaitl scored multiple points in 36 of 81 career playoff games and achieved feats in three of seven contests with the Golden Knights.
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