NHL

The best-of-7 Eastern Conference playoff series between the Rangers and Hurricanes returns to Carolina on Thursday — and not a moment too soon for the Canes. That’s because 11 games into Carolina’s postseason, the home team is a perfect 11-for-11. So, naturally, the Hurricanes are favored in the NHL playoff odds market heading into Game 5. […]

It has been exactly two decades since the Colorado Avalanche advanced as far as the Western Conference finals. All the Avalanche need to do to end that drought: Pick up one more victory against the St. Louis Blues in the next three games. If you buy into the numbers in the NHL playoff odds market, […]

Looking for some serious Stanley Cup playoffs drama? You’ll find it Tuesday night in two different countries, where a pair of pivotal Game 4 contests are on tap. The fact both home teams are barely favored in the NHL playoff odds market suggests we could be headed for some down-to-the-wire tension. Dare we go so […]

Ten days ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning were one defeat away from seeing their two-year reign as Stanley Cup champions come to an end. Now, they’re favored on the NHL playoff odds board to sweep their second-round series, reach a third consecutive Eastern Conference final, and keep their three-peat dream alive. One day after rolling […]

Just how much have the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers lit up the scoreboard in their best-of-7 conference semifinals series? The 23 combined goals that the Alberta rivals tallied in their first two games in Calgary exceeded the combined goal total from the first two games of the other three conference semifinal series: Panthers-Lightning, Hurricanes-Rangers […]

The Colorado Avalanche played with fire throughout Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series against the St. Louis Blues, yet escaped unscathed. So the Avs stuck their hands in the flames again in Thursday’s Game 2. This time, they got burned — as did bettors who laid a big price on Colorado. Speaking of […]

It was a tale of two NHL playoff games — in two different countries — Wednesday night. Down in the southeastern U.S., the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers slugged it out in a classic low-scoring overtime nailbiter. North of the border, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers engaged in old-fashioned shootout that featured less […]

The Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers entered the postseason as the first and second choices, respectively, on the Stanley Cup championship futures board. While both squads advanced to the second round, only one is living up to the prognosticators’ NHL playoff odds expectations. Fresh off an overtime victory in Game 1 of their Western Conference […]

The opening round of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs was as exhilarating as it was illogical. Exhilarating because 51 games were played across eight series — five of which went the distance, with two others going six games. Illogical because the 16 participating teams combined to score 328 goals. That adage about playoff teams tightening […]

All four teams on Wednesday’s NHL playoff odds board will be coming off at least a two-day respite. To say the break was welcomed would be an understatement, seeing that all four squads needed seven games to dispatch their first-round opponents. Not only that, but each series clincher came with a side of high-stress, high-stakes […]

After a quintet of thrilling Game 7s over the weekend — the final pair decided in overtime — the NHL took a well-deserved breather Monday. Now, though, the focus shifts to Round 2, and NHL playoff odds are back on betting boards from coast to coast. The original 16-team field has been sliced in half, […]