With seven weeks remaining in the 2023-24 National Hockey League schedule, all 32 teams are still mathematically alive for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and with division title and playoff positioning at stake, we look at the betting angles for teams looking to cash in on postseason appearances.
All odds posted are courtesy of DraftKings.
Atlantic Division
With the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins deadlocked atop the division, the title chase for home ice advantage throughout the playoffs could come down to the last day of the season in addition to who will hoist a banner in the rafters. The defending division champion Bruins are the second favorite at +190 to win the Atlantic behind the defending Eastern Conference champion Panthers who are decided -170 favorites despite being tied with Boston in points with a game in hand.
Boston is 2-0 against Florida this season with two games to play against the Panthers in a 10-day span later this month, including a nationally televised matchup on ABC on April 6th inside TD Garden.
Though they are 10 points behind in the race, the surging Toronto Maple Leafs are +1100 to win the Atlantic and with four games remaining against the Bruins and Panthers, could throw a wrench into the title chase in the final two months.
The Bruins have the third toughest Strength of Schedule remaining, while Florida sits seventh in that metric, while Toronto is fifth.
Metropolitan Division
Fresh off a 10-game winning streak, the New York Rangers (-200) are clear favorites to win the Metropolitan Division. The Carolina Hurricanes are the only team within 10 points of the lead and are currently priced at +165 to take home the title.
The Hurricanes have a much easier schedule the rest of the way as they have just eight games remaining against playoff hopefuls Florida, Winnipeg, NY Rangers, Boston, Toronto, and Detroit, with six games remaining against Chicago, Columbus, and Montreal.
Central Division
Quite possibly, the most wide-open division race is the Central Division, where the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, and Colorado Avalanche are separated by just two points on top of the standings, and the betting market shows a wide range of options. The Jets are -145, favorites followed by the Stars at +280 and the Avalanche at +360.
Dallas has the easiest remaining schedule in the division, with seven games remaining against the Sharks, Coyotes, and Kraken, while the Avs have a total of four games remaining against the Oilers and defending Cup champion Golden Knights. The Stars having this easiest schedule the rest of the way makes the near 3:1 price too good for me to pass up.
The Pacific Division race isn’t really much of a race at this point, as the Vancouver Canucks are 10 points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights and 13 points above the Edmonton Oilers.
On The Bubble
The Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference have the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning currently holding the final tickets to the playoffs, with the Lightning five points ahead of New Jersey, with Washington, Pittsburgh, and the NY Islanders all within seven points.
In the Western Conference, Calgary, St. Louis, Minnesota, and Seattle are just five points out of a wild card spot, with the Blues seeing the longest odds to make the postseason, sitting at +650 just to qualify for the playoffs, followed by the Flames at +300.
The Wild have the easiest remaining schedule of any team in the league but have three remaining matchups against Colorado and a pair of games each against Vegas and Los Angeles.
Hoist the Cup?
Four of the top six teams favored to win the Stanley Cup are Eastern Conference teams, as Florida (+750), Boston (+850), Carolina (+900), and the NY Rangers (+1000) lead the way with Edmonton (+800) and Colorado (+850) the lone West squads on the top of the list.
Vegas, the defending Cup champions, are currently sitting at +1300 to repeat, fifth-best odds in the West and 10th overall.
Coming next week, a look at the individual award winner betting odds including insight into who will unseat Connor McDavid as the league MVP.
