Who Does Vegas Like to Meet in the Stanley Cup Finals?
With Vancouver and Pittsburgh facing 3-0 series deficits, two new teams have surfaced as the favorites in Las Vegas to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.
Most hockey fans are familiar with the unpredictability of the NHL playoffs. Lower seeded teams consistently ride their hot goaltender — such as Tim Thomas’ of the Bruins last season — to big upsets and surprising playoff runs. This random and capricious trend makes betting NHL futures a potentially lucrative endeavor. In fact, with some surprising results in the early playoff games, the future odds have already seen a tremendous amount of shake-up.
The Vancouver Canucks, who entered the playoffs as the number one seed in the Western Conference, are currently trailing the Kings three games to nothing in their best of seven series. Those results have shifted the Canucks from 11:2 favorites to win the Cup down to 35:1 long shots. Likewise the fourth seeded Penguins — who entered the post-season as the odds on favorites (4:1) to win it all — currently trail the Flyers 3-0 and have similarly dropped down to 35:1 underdogs. The table below compares future odds from Bovada taken prior to the playoffs and compares them to the current odds.
| Team | Odds on 4/9 | Odds on 4/16 | Series Standing |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 4:1 | 35:1 | Trails Philadelphia 3-0 |
| New York Rangers | 11:2 | 6:1 | Series with Ottawa tied 1-1 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 11:2 | 35:1 | Trails Los Angeles 3-0 |
| St. Louis Blues | 15:2 | 9:1 | Series with San Jose tied 1-1 |
| Boston Bruins | 8:1 | 8:1 | Series with Washington tied 1-1 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 12:1 | 16:1 | Trails Nashville 2-1 |
| Nashville Predators | 14:1 | 9:1 | Leads Detroit 2-1 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 14:1 | 4:1 | Leads Pittsburgh 3-0 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 16:1 | 15:1 | Series with Phoenix tied 1-1 |
| San Jose Sharks | 18:1 | 15:1 | Series with St. Louis tied 1-1 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 20:1 | 6:1 | Leads Vancouver 3-0 |
| New Jersey Devils | 25:1 | 18:1 | Series with Florida tied 1-1 |
| Washington Capitals | 30:1 | 25:1 | Series with Boston tied 1-1 |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 30:1 | 25:1 | Series with Chicago tied 1-1 |
| Ottawa Senators | 40:1 | 35:1 | Series with NY Rangers tied 1-1 |
| Florida Panthers | 40:1 | 40:1 | Series with New Jersey tied 1-1 |
As you can see the Flyers, who are just one game away from sweeping the highly touted Penguins, have moved from 14:1 to 4:1 and are now the odds on favorites to win Lord Stanley’s cup. Joining them in their ascent up the rankings are the Los Angeles Kings. L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick has made 111 saves on 115 shots in three games helping the Kings jump out to a 3-0 lead. This has moved the Kings title odds to 6:1 — the same odds as the Eastern Conference’s top seeded Rangers.
Three games are scheduled tonight, and all three series are knotted at one game apiece. Our team of analysts has circled the Senators as a game to watch based on the lop-sided betting percentages, but login to your Sports Insights account later today to see if any plays have been triggered.
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