NHL restart: Sportsbooks post odds on early games

Knights -125 choice over Stars in opener of round-robin play

With the NHL postseason approaching Aug. 1, Las Vegas sportsbooks have posted lines on all eight qualifying-round games and all four round-robin games at Edmonton and Toronto.

The Golden Knights are -125 favorites over the Dallas Stars (+115) in their Aug. 3 round-robin game at Edmonton. Vegas is +205 on the puck line (-1½) at the Westgate, and the total is 5½ (Under -130).

The Blues and Avalanche are each -105 in the other Western Conference round-robin game Aug. 2.

In the Eastern Conference round-robin games in Toronto, the Bruins are -130 favorites over the Flyers (+120) on Aug. 2, and the Lightning are -125 favorites over the Capitals (+115) on Aug. 3.

The winners of the best-of-five qualifying-round series will advance to face the round-robin teams in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Here are the lines on the five qualifying-round games scheduled for Aug. 1:

Penguins (-165) over Canadiens (+150)

Hurricanes (-125) over Rangers (+115)

Panthers (-105) vs. Islanders (-105)

Oilers (-145) over Blackhawks (+132)

Flames (-115) over Jets (+105) Here are the lines on the three qualifying-round games scheduled for Aug. 2:

Maple Leafs (-150) over Blue Jackets (+135)

Predators (-125) over Coyotes (+115)

Canucks (-115) over Wild (+105)

Fanning the Flames

A Westgate bettor placed a $5,500 straight wager to win $5,000 on Calgary over Winnipeg in Game 1 and a $2,200 bet to win $2,000 on the Flames to win the series.

NASCAR long shots

For what might be the first time ever, a triple-digit long shot won a NASCAR Cup Series race in back-toback weeks.

Austin Dillon won the O’reilly Auto Parts 500 on Sunday at odds of up to 130-1 a week after Cole Custer cashed tickets at odds up to 300-1 when he won the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.

“It’s never happened before, as far as my memory goes,” said longtime Las Vegas oddsmaker Ed Salmons, Westgate sportsbook vice president of risk.

The Westgate had zero tickets on Dillon. But a William Hill bettor in Nevada hit a $50 wager that paid $5,000 (100-1) when Dillon stayed in front after a restart with two laps to go and beat rookie Tyler Reddick to the checkered flag at Texas Motor Speedway.

Out of state, a Draftkings bettor turned $40 into $5,000 on Dillon at 125-1, and a Fanduel bettor won a $50 wager on Dillon at 130-1 that paid $6,500.

Salmons, Westgate’s NASCAR guru, said long shots winning in back-toback weeks was largely a fluke.

Dillon stayed in front on three late restarts, the first after an incident with 29 laps left that shuffled the fast car of Ryan Blaney to a lap back.

Rahm tough

A William Hill bettor in Nevada won a $1,500 wager that paid $39,000 on Jon Rahm to win the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament at 25-1 odds.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.