Four of the NHL’s 31 teams have clinched playoff spots already. Three of them (Vegas, Colorado and Minnesota) come from the West Division, while the other (Carolina) comes out of the Central. That means that 12 of the 16 spots are still up for grabs; this season, each division will send its top four teams to the postseason.
Two teams — New Jersey and Buffalo — have been eliminated, so let’s look at the updated sports betting odds for the other 29 teams to hoist the Stanley Cup at the end of the playoffs.
NHL News: Updated Stanley Cup Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Colorado Avalanche | +350 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +600 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +700 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +800 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +1100 |
| Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals | +1400 |
| New York Islanders | +1500 |
| Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild | +2000 |
| Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins | +2200 |
| Florida Panthers | +2400 |
| Montreal Canadiens | +2500 |
| St. Louis Blues | +3000 |
| Dallas Stars | +4000 |
| Arizona Coyotes, Nashville Predators | +6000 |
| New York Rangers | +7500 |
| Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks | +10000 |
| Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks | +15000 |
| Los Angeles Kings | +20000 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | +40000 |
| Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings | +150000 |
Vegas has bolstered their roster from a year ago. They have two goalies (Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner) who would start for other teams. They have two elite defensemen in Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo. Their forward corps, led by Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone, is deep and skilled. It’s going to be tough for another team to knock them out ahead of the finals.
Colorado is the favorite right now, but the Avs and the Golden Knighs have been going back and forth all season long. If they meet in the playoffs, it would likely be in the second round, so that series might be the best among the quarterfinal matchups.
Florida has been an intriguing team to watch this season. They were not expected to make the playoffs out of the Central Division — let alone hold onto second place and keep up with the likes of Carolina and Tampa Bay.
Carolina has gotten an immense season out of Alex Nedeljkovic. If he can keep this play going, he will terrorize teams the rest of the way. The Panthers’ torrid pace has cooled off, but they have enough in the tank to win the division.
Tampa Bay has fallen off over the last few weeks, and some of that has to do with the absences of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. However, both are expected to return for the postseason.
Washington plays Pittsburgh twice this week, as both of these streaking sides are pushing hard for the East Division title.
Pittsburgh is normally a team known for its offensive prowess (and the mistakes that an offense-first team will make on the back end. These trends made their 1-0 win on Sunday over a hungry Boston team all the more impressive.
Boston has been in search of a second scoring line to take some of the burden off Patrice Bergeron’s crew. They’ve finally found it, and they need to ride it hard to get to the playoffs.
Minnesota is a tough team against the bottom-feeders in the West. The problem is that they have been getting beaten by the teams above them regularly. Can they make an upward dent in the standings?
Toronto has struggled lately, with neither goaltender playing particularly well. At the same time, they’ve hit netminders who are standing on their heads in recent games. Their own goalies need to get their confidence back as the playoffs near.
The Islanders would face either Washington or Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs, most likely. They have posted a 4-8-3 record against those two sides this season — not a recipe for advancing further.
The Rangers would have a playoff spot if they lived in any other division than the East. As hot as they’re playing, they might get a playoff spot anyway.
Dallas is finally seeing some of that bad overtime luck go their way, as captain Jamie Benn has overtime winners in two straight games. They are catching Nashville now, for that last spot in the Central Division, and if they can get in, they’re definitely on my list of value bets.
NHL Betting Odds
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