The New York Rangers made a statement in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Carolina Hurricanes, winning, 4-3. Despite the fact that the Rangers won the President’s Trophy for having the best record in the NHL – and despite the fact that they swept the Washington Capitals out of the first round – the Blueshirts are viewed as underdogs. One reason is their difficulties on offense at 5-on-5 play. They only had a 38.8% expected goals percentage against Washington at 5-on-5 despite the sweep. However, the Rangers led for the vast majority of that series, which may have led to conservative play. The series was tied for just 13 minutes and 50 seconds, and the Capitals only led for 17 seconds of the four games during 5-on-5 play. During the regular season, the Rangers were 22nd in expected goals percentage (49%) while the Hurricanes were second (56.9%). We’ll see if the Rangers can keep that amped-up offense going as the series keeps going. In the meantime, check out the updated Stanley Cup Odds for each of the eight remaining teams in the Finals as well as our thoughts on some of the contenders.
Updated NHL Stanley Cup Odds Shake Up the Playoff Picture
- Edmonton Oilers +350
- N.Y. Rangers +500
- Dallas Stars +500
- Carolina Hurricanes +550
- Colorado Avalanche +600
- Florida Panthers +650
- Boston Bruins +750
- Vancouver Canucks +1500
N.Y. Rangers
The Rangers and Hurricanes are reprising a seven-game classic from 2022, which the Rangers won after taking a passionate Game 7 down in Raleigh. The Hurricanes added Jake Guentzel t the trade deadline to boost scoring depth. The NHL honors division matchups with their playoff bracket, but this leads to some uneven seeding; the first- and third-best teams in the NHL, in terms of points earned during the season, are meeting in the second round of the playoffs. We have two elite goalies in this matchup; Igor Shesterkin posted a .930 save percentage and a 1.75 GAA during the first round, with 4.4 goals saved above expected in that series according to the MoneyPuck.com metrics. On the other end of the ice, Frederik Andersen has been outstanding since his return from clotting issues; in the first round, he posted a .912 save percentage and a 2.25 GAA. On offense, Mika Zibanejad had seven points for the Rangers in four games, and Vincent Trocheck had three goals and six points in the opening series. Trocheck posted a 52-21 record on faceoffs (71.2%), leading the league by a mile in that metric.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins made an emphatic point in Game 1, going down to Florida and delivering a 5-1 thumping after a seven-game first-round series that really featured uneven effort and execution from one game to the next. The Bruins have elite goaltending in Jeremy Swayman, provided that Jim Montgomery can avoid the temptation of micromanaging his goalie rotation. They have two elite playoff scorers in Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, and the blueliners are led by Charlie McAvoy. Coming into this series, a lot of sports betting prognosticators saw the Panthers winning this in four or five games. The Panthers do have Sergei Bobrovsky playing his best in net, and in front of him, they play a heavy, physical style of hockey. The Panthers only needed five games to send Tampa Bay home in the first round, while the Bruins had to skate two more nights – and then went to overtime in Game 7. Can the Bruins sustain the adrenaline run that pushed them in the series opener?
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks beat the Oilers in all four of their meetings this season by a combined score of 21-7. So why are the Oilers the heavy favorites to win the Cup, while the Canucks are way down the odds list? Well, the Canucks are missing starting goalie Thatcher Demko and may have to rely on Arturs Silvos the whole way – but he did play well enough against Nashville. Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner only posted an unsightly .830 save percentage in the season series, so if he can get anywhere close to .900 and the Oil can get big scoring from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, then the Oilers should be able to bounce back. Three of the Canucks’ four wins in this series came in the first 11 games of the season.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche beat the Stars three of four times in the regular season, winning the first three meetings by a combined score of 16-8. The Stars got some revenge on April 7, rolling to a 7-4 win. Interestingly, the Avalanche only needed five games to beat a Winnipeg team that had rolled them in all three regular-season meetings by a combined score of 17-4. The Stars got some scoring diversity against Vegas, with 10 different players scoring goals. Wyatt Johnstona nd Jason Robertson combined to score seven of the teams’ goals. Goalie Jake Oettinger had a .925 save percentage over the team’s seven-game win over Vegas. The Avalanche have elite scoring in Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen, and while the Stars have a solid defense, the Avs will give them all they can handle.
Two matchups this Tuesday!
— NHL (@NHL) May 7, 2024
Who do you have skating away with a W? 🧐 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/2W0IU3k3e4
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