Hockey is one of the toughest sports when it comes to winning championships as a favorite. Last year, the Tampa Bay Lightning were a favorite to hoist the Stanley Cup, and they ended up pulling it off. The year before, though, they were also the favorites — and ended up getting swept in the first round by the wild-card Columbus Blue Jackets. Between 2002 and 2018, a #3 seed (15%) was almost as likely to make the Stanley Cup Final as a #1 seed (19%). Four-seeds made it 11% of the time. The two-seed (31%) seemed like the best place to be, even with the three-seed looming on that side of the bracket. Long shots emerge and occasionally pay off. Even eight-seeds would advance to the Final 8% of the time.
Let’s take a look at the sports hockey betting odds for each of the NHL’s teams to win the Stanley Cup and focus on some of the long shots.
NHL News: Longshots to Win the Stanley Cup
| Team | Odds |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +500 |
| Vegas Golden Knights, Toronto Maple Leafs | +700 |
| Colorado Avalanche | +750 |
| N.Y. Islanders | +1300 |
| Washington Capitals, Minnesota Wild | +1600 |
| Florida Panthers | +1700 |
| Boston Bruins | +1800 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets | +2000 |
| Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens | +2200 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | +4000 |
| Dallas Stars | +4500 |
| Arizona Coyotes | +5500 |
| N.Y. Rangers | +7000 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | +7500 |
| Vancouver Canucks | +8000 |
| Nashville Predators | +10000 |
| New Jersey Devils | +20000 |
| Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks | +25000 |
| Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators | +100000 |
| Detroit Red Wings | +175000 |
The Dallas Stars have emerged as an enigma this season. They were the other Stanley Cup finalist last season, and while they had to delay the start to this season due to COVID-19 contact tracing, they won their first four games by a combined score of 19-5. However, they have shown considerable inconsistency since then, sinking in the Central Division. Some players (Tyler Seguin, Ben Bishop) remain largely unavailable due to injury. They alternate big wins (such as their 6-1 rout of Chicago on Tuesday) with two or three ugly losses by similar margins, and then they will give up huge leads and fall in the shootout. After that 4-0 start, they went 1-3-4. There are times when the team looks menacing on offense, but they don’t finish chances. There are other times when the offense is rolling, but the defense won’t stop anyone. There’s also been a drop in goaltender play. Anton Khudobin came on in relief of Ben Bishop in the playoffs last year, and he stood on his head at times, getting save after key save. However, this season he has not had similar focus or results. He has let in bad goals from distance and easy angles, and rookie Jake Oettinger has let in some baffling goals as well. If this team can put together 60-minute hockey games, they could climb the standings and contend again. However, with the COVID-19 postponements and then losing a week due to a winter storm in Dallas, they finish with an unprecedented 40 games in 70 days. Injuries will pile up, and fatigue will build. Can the Stars make another run?
The Philadelphia Flyers were the top seed in the Eastern Conference after the round-robin resumption of the 2019-20 season. Through their first 23 games of the 2020-21 season, Philadelphia is 13-7-3, one point behind Boston in the East, which means they would miss the postseason if play ended today. Remember, this season only has 56 games, instead of the normal 82, so each win (and each loss) has more importance. One clear need that the Flyers have is another defenseman to join Ivan Provorov on the top pairing. The Flyers have made too many mistakes when Provorov’s partner has made a gaffe, leading to too many breakaways the other way. Robert Hagg, Shayne Gostisbehere, Travis Sanheim and Phil Myers make for an exciting young defense core, but the team needs another veteran. The team has solid goaltender play, with Brian Elliott remaining on hand to fill in nicely for Carter Hart, who does need to bounce back from recent struggles.
NHL Betting Odds
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