With two months to go in the regular season, a month to go before the trade deadline, and about three more games to go before Brad Marchand sucker-punches another goalie, it’s time to take a look at where things stand with NHL Stanley Cup odds.
And where they stand isn’t that far off from where they started, with the Avs as the short price and everyone else chasing Joe Sakic’s gang in the race to hoist Lord Stanley’s fancy dinner bowl.
PointsBetUSA sports analyst Mike Korn dives into NHL Stanley Cup odds with Props.com.
2021-22 NHL Stanley Cup Odds
| Team | Odds |
| Colorado Avalanche | +400 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +750 |
| Florida Panthers | +750 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +900 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +900 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +1,000 |
| Calgary Flames | +1,100 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +1,400 |
| Minnesota Wild | +1,600 |
| Boston Bruins | +2,000 |
| New York Rangers | +2,000 |
| Washington Capitals | +2,500 |
| St. Louis Blues | +2,500 |
| Nashville Predators | +2,500 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +3,000 |
| Dallas Stars | +5,000 |
| Los Angeles Kings | +5,000 |
| Anaheim Ducks | +7,000 |
| New York Islanders | +8,000 |
| Winnipeg Jets | +8,000 |
| Vancouver Canucks | +12,500 |
| San Jose Sharks | +15,000 |
| Detroit Red Wings | +30,000 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | +40,000 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | +40,000 |
| New Jersey Devils | +50,000 |
| Ottawa Senators | +50,000 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | +100,000 |
| Seattle Kraken | +100,000 |
| Buffalo Sabres | +100,000 |
| Montreal Canadiens | +200,000 |
| Arizona Coyotes | +200,000 |
Odds via PointsBetUSA and updated as of 11 a.m. ET on Feb. 23.
The Rocky Mountain High
The Colorado Avalanche are, in the parlance of our times, a wagon. They opened the season at +500 at PointsBet USA and have only seen that price come down in the intervening months. Even following their sluggish 5-1 loss to the Bruins on Feb. 21, they still maintain a 10-point lead on the St. Louis Blues in the Central Division.
That division is Colorado’s to lose, the West is Colorado’s to lose, and bettors are acting like the hardware is Colorado’s to lose.
“The Avs were the most bet team to win the Cup coming into the season and it’s been that way throughout,” Korn said. “I think it will continue. I don’t think that’s going to stop.” Oh. Might as well just send a case of silver polish to Denver, then? Well. A couple of teams may object.
Panthers On The Prowl
The two-time defending champion (possibly one-and-a-half-times, considering what Montreal’s done this year) Tampa Bay Lightning share second-choice honors with the Florida Panthers. Both are at +750.
The Panthers (75 points) actually have a three-point lead over Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division and are second only to the Avs (78 points) in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy. The reason? They can’t stop scoring. Here’s how prolific Florida’s offense has been: Entering Wednesday’s action, Minnesota ranked third in the league with 182 goals, which was 14 behind Colorado … which are themselves 14 behind the Panthers.
Florida: Where animal control is beleaguered and goals are cheap.
“Most of our bet count is on the Avs. No. 2 is the Panthers. So those are teams we don’t want to see win it,” Korn said. “The Islanders (+8000) are our biggest liability. The Avs are second in liability just because their price is so short.”
Growing Their Playoff Beards
The Vegas Golden Knights are the co-fourth choice on the Stanley Cup odds board at +900. The Knights ceded control of the Pacific Division to the Flames, lost captain and terrible haircut aficionado Mark Stone indefinitely, and have been down a starting netminder since getting pantsed by Calgary on Feb. 9. But Vegas has been able to hang tough at the window thanks to the debut of shiny new toy and No. 1 center Jack Eichel.
Bettors are enchanted by a top line that includes Eichel and Max Pacioretty (and eventually, Stone). Of course, bettors don’t have to sweat the upcoming Salary Cap Armageddon when Stone returns. (The subsequent roster cuts will be so severe that Eichel might be forced to squeeze into a showgirl outfits during the Vegas pregame spectacular.)
Joining Vegas at +900 are the Maple Leafs, who have finally figured out how to not let in a million goals a game. Unfortunately for Toronto bettors, the Leafs are … still the Leafs. So the chances of them getting blown out in the first round by, say, a barely-squeaking-into-the-playoffs Blue Jackets squad remain high.
Directly behind Vegas and Toronto are the Hurricanes (+1,000), Flames (+1,100), and Penguins (+1,400). The latter club has made the biggest jump on the board to date. Bolstered by Tristan Jarry shockingly turning in a top-10 season in net, Pittsburgh’s odds have plummeted from a high point of +2,500.
“Teams we’re rooting for are the Lightning, Pens, and Hurricanes,” Korn said.
Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers are headed in the opposite direction, even with two of the best players on the planet sharing a bench.
“[Edmonton] got as [low] as +1,000 after coming into the season at +2500. Now they’re out to +3000,” Korn said. “That’s a lot of crazy movement.”
Standing On Their Head
If you’re looking to cash a double-digit price, betting on “goalie who could turn white-hot and drag a flawed team through the playoffs” ain’t a bad place to start. (See the Canadiens, circa 2020-2021.) Sure enough, some of the most enticing prices in the NHL Stanley Cup odds market just happen to coincide with three of the league’s top goalies.
The Calgary Flames (+1,600) have allowed the fewest goals in the league so far, and netminder Jakob Markstrom (.928 save percentage) is the main reason why. The St. Louis Blues (+2,500) are in a more complicated situation, what with nominal starter Jordan Binnington losing his job to Ville Husso. Husso, though, has a .936 save percentage in 19 games.
Then there is PointsBet’s No. 3 liability team, the New York Rangers (+2.000), who have Igor Shesterkin sporting a .939 save percentage. That figure would currently rank fourth all-time behind a couple of Jacques Plante seasons, and ahead of guys like Dominik Hasek and Tony Esposito.
Plus, Shesterkin is real close to figuring out how to score, too.
Hows it going? 2 inches away from getting scored on by a goalie
Shesterkin goes for the goal pic.twitter.com/qITC82jdpy
— Lalime's Martian (@LalimesMartian) February 21, 2022
Forget about goaltending. Put Shesterkin on the power play.
