Updated 2019 Stanley Cup Odds – December 21st Edition

We’re drawing close to the midpoint of the 2018-19 regular season in the National Hockey League, which means it’s time to take a look at the odds for each team to hoist the Stanley Cup at the end of the postseason. Tampa Bay, Toronto, Buffalo and Washington are the top four teams in the Eastern Conference, but the fact that the first three all come from the same division means that one of them won’t make it out of the first round of the playoffs, thanks to the NHL’s postseason format. Winnipeg, Nashville, Calgary, San Jose and Anaheim are the top five teams in the Western Conference, but they are only separated by five points. Take a look at the 2019 Stanley Cup odds for each team as you consider your sports betting in hockey futures.

Updated 2019 Stanley Cup Odds – December 21st Edition

Maple Leafs have 12 years to win Stanley Cup before name is removed from trophy https://t.co/cIk8vT0Euh pic.twitter.com/SCCsnFhlTg

— CP24 (@CP24) December 19, 2018

• Tampa Bay Lightning                                                                                               6/1
• Vegas Golden Knights, Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets,
• Toronto Maple Leafs                                                                                                8/1
• Washington Capitals                                                                                                10/1
• Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames                                        12/1
• San Jose Sharks                                                                                                       14/1
• Colorado Avalanche, Buffalo Sabres                                                                     20/1
• Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild                              25/1
• Anaheim Ducks                                                                                                         40/1
• Dallas Stars                                                                                                               50/1
• Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens                                                             60/1
• N.Y. Islanders                                                                                                                        80/1
• Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, N.Y. Rangers, Arizona Coyotes                                         100/1
• Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings      300/1
• Chicago Blackhawks                                                                                                500/1

  Tampa Bay has rounded into midseason form, eight points clear of Toronto in the Atlantic Division (although the Maple Leafs have a game in hand). They have a tremendous goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy and speed and skill on their top two lines — as well as stellar blueliners. Washington brought their run to an end last year, but who will stop them this season? Toronto is benefiting mightily from bringing in Mike Babcock to lead a renaissance for one of the Original Six franchises, and while the newspapers are focusing on the difficulty of signing the young core when they become free agents, the team is focusing on winning, and they’re the second-best team in their division and conference as a result. Winnipeg is similar to Toronto — a bunch of young, speedy skaters who can score in bunches. They ran into the Vegas juggernaut a year ago but are well ahead of the Golden Knights in the standings this season. Can they show more mental toughness when the second season begins? Nashville is winless in their last eight road games, but they still might have the best goalie in the Western Conference in Pekka Rinne, and when their offense is up and running, it’s hard to find a crack in this team. Calgary is looking to their defense to stop the bleeding that has kept them from creeping even higher in the standings. Defenseman Mark Giordano is the team’s captain and is putting up Norris Trophy numbers this season. Washington has shaken off their Stanley Cup hangover and is leading the Metropolitan Division once again. But what can we expect when the postseason returns? Can Alexei Ovechkin put the Capitals on his back again? Or will a hungrier team in the East knock them out? San Jose is a consistent presence in the postseason — and a consistent disappointment. The addition of Timo Meier might help them end that trend, as he has scored more than a point per game so far this season. Colorado hopes that Semyon Varlamov will wake back up in net. He recently went through a five-game malaise in which he won just once, posting an .844 save percentage and a 5.32 GAA. Buffalo is a pleasant surprise this season, adding a quality goalie and putting skilled players on a line with Jack Eichel. They also are getting offense from their blue line. Can they keep winning in the second half of the season and stay in contention?