NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Early Preview: Odds, Predictions

In a little over a month from now the Stanley Cup playoffs will get underway. Some describe it as the greatest sports championship setting of them all. 16 teams, four rounds, each a best-of-seven. To be the last team standing after so much intensity and physical play truly is the sign of a worthy champion.

Some fanbases have extremely high hopes and for good reason. Others are cautiously optimistic, aware that their side has talent and depth, but that history is not necessarily on their side. Finally, there are some who would like nothing more than to simply see their club experience postseason hockey and see what happens. There is no shortage of fairy-tale playoff runs in NHL history, after all.

As always, don’t forget to check out our NHL odds page for individual games, our NHL player props, and our NHL futures.

Now, let’s discuss some Stanley Cup hopefuls.

Boston Bruins

Given the sort of campaign Jim Montgomery’s ensemble is having, it would be ridiculous to leave them out of the conversation. The NHL-leading Bruins are the talk of the town, and a terror to be reckoned with. No one has as many wins (49), no one has scored as many goals (237), no one has suffered as few regulation defeats (8), and no one even sniffs their +/- goal differential (+105). Look no further than their +355 odds.

Ah ha! We’ve located a weakness! They’re 10^th in penalty minutes accrued with 626. Whoops, they have an NHL-best 86.6 penalty-killing efficiency. Linus Ullmark is amazing, David Pastrnak is sensational, Brad Marchand is the ageless wonder, Hampus Lindholm is a stunning +41, etc. Who can stop them? What can stop them? Fair questions. Silly answer: history. There hasn’t been a President’s Trophy winner that went on to capture Lord Stanley’s trophy in a decade (the 2012-2013 Chicago Blackhawks last accomplished the feat). Six of the last seven were eliminated in the second round. Many amazing teams have entered the marathon that is the Stanley Cup playoffs and many have failed.

Colorado Avalanche

One wouldn’t think of it by looking at their rank in the standings, but there are some very good reasons why the Avalanche are placed second at +608. It’s true that, at the time of this writing, six clubs in the Western Conference have more points. If the playoffs started today, the Avalanche would be a seventh seed, not a ranking that typically strikes terror in opponents’ hearts.

But the playoffs don’t start today. Colorado has 20 games left to continue climbing the ranks in the West. They’ve gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 contests and 15-7 since the middle of January. To be fair, the side experienced some disturbances with a trio of losses last week but righted the ship by burying the Sharks 6-0 most recently. The point being made is that they are peaking and have Stanley Cup winning experience. Leaders Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen have had great seasons, and players like Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen offer excellent support.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes storm into third place with +718 odds. The franchise is attaining a level of consistency most other sides should be envious of. They were a great team last year but lacked a killer instinct when it mattered most, coughing up 2-0 and 3-2 leads in their second-round battle with the New York Rangers.

The Canes are back at it again, leading the Metropolitan division with 92 points. New Jersey isn’t too far behind, but it’s fair to argue that Carolina has looked like the slightly better side this season. Although a +58 goal differential can’t impress as much as Boston’s +105, theirs is still good for second-best league-wide. They also place just behind the Bruins as a defensive ensemble, coughing up only 2.50 goals per game. Three goalies – Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta, and Pyotr Kochetkov – have all put in significant minutes. None has a GAA above 2.35. Four players have notched 50 points: Martin Necas, Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Brent Burns. They have depth, score timely goals, and it’s incredibly tough to score on them. This could be their year.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Ah yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs at +820. Canada’s great hope of ending the Stanley Cup drought. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander, etc. All wonderful players. Also players who have never made it out of the first round of the playoffs whilst wearing the famous blue and white jerseys. No matter their ranking in the East by the end of the regular season, no matter their first-round opponent, Toronto has never advanced past the initial stage with this core group.

Here they are again, plus Morgan Rielly. They can make a legitimate claim to be the third-best team in the conference, possibly the second should Carolina stumble down the stretch. But they were one of the top sides last year and Tampa Bay beat them. They were one of the top sides two years ago and Montreal beat them. They were one of the top sides in the bubble and Columbus beat them… Enough talk. Enough nice regular season statistics. Go out and do it for once.

Long shot: Dallas Stars

For a team that’s spent most of the year leading its division, one must lend one’s ear with intent to hear even a peep about the Dallas Stars (+1456). No, they aren’t as awesome as the Bruins. They don’t have the flashy players the Oilers have, the history the Lightning have, or the Stanley Cup pedigree the Avalanche have.

Dallas has snuck under the radar, yet here they are with 81 points and a respectable 34-17-14 record. The side is very even keel, sporting nearly identical 17-9-8 and 17-8-5 home and away records. Their +44 goal differential is deserving of fifth in the entire NHL. Whom have they defeated recently? Oh, just the Pacific-leading Golden Knights and the aforementioned defending champion Avalanche. That’s all. Jason Robertson is having himself one heck of a season (38 goals and 42 assists) if anyone bothers to notice. Three other players have surpassed 50 points: Roope Hintz, Jamie Benn, and the immortal Joe Pavelski. Are we saying the Dallas Stars will win the Stanley Cup? Not necessarily, but it would be unwise to sleep on them.