Who Are The Favorites For The 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs?

With the playoffs well underway, we are starting to see the tale-tail signs of standout teams. Already there is a clear picture of who will make it through to the finals. 

The top 6 teams in the NHL betting odds are the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Carolina Hurricanes. 

Time to dive into why these teams should be on your radar.

Colorado Avalanche

According to Fanduel, the Colorado Avalanche are the favorites to win the 2022 Stanley Cup with +220 betting odds.

On Monday night, they defeated Nashville but the win wasn’t as easy as the Avalanche hoped. The Predators managed to trade goals with Colorado creating an even match with a constant need for a leading score.

In this quarter, the Predators were in the lead, but Colorado didn’t lose sight of their goals. Cale Makar pushed forward and gained three more points, with Pavel Francouz defended with such force he created a new record.

Francouz ended the game with an amazing 28 saves, allowing the Colorado Avalanche to enter into the second round.

Despite this difficult game, the Colorado Avalanche is still the bettors’ favorite.

Florida Panthers

Fanduel currently gives the Panthers odds of +600. This is a massive jump from the Avalanche +220, but still, it makes them the second in the running.

In their match against the Washington Capitals, every fan was on their feet watching through tense hands and unblinking eyes. They kicked off the Stanley Cup with an electrifying start. With game 3 around the corner, we look back on their efforts in game 2. 

The reason the Panthers are placed so high on the rankings is due to their amazing offensive strategies. They are achieving the most goals per season than we have ever seen before. Their 337 goals are the highest since the 1995 season when the Pittsburgh Penguins stole the show.

Calgary Flames

With odds of +800, the Calgary Flames are catching up to the Florida Panthers. This year their lineup is a formidable one. This is their first real shot at the Stanley Cup in years.

Matthew Tkachuk is ready to tear down the ice and dominate the rink. Many people, including Johnny Gaudreau, suggest that the Flames are the underdogs of the season, which means that any betting fans should be eyeing up this team ready to make their money.

The mentality of the Flames is to act as a road warrior and continue to slam down their opponents. With Dallas screaming and cheering their team on, we think the Flames have a chance of keeping this momentum.

Toronto Maple Leafs

There are a lot of bold claims that the Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup this year, but looking at the odds, the bookies aren’t thinking the same thing. 

With odds of +1000, we think the bookies are still looking at Maple Leaf’s history. They haven’t reached the playoffs since 2004, and haven’t touched the Stanley Cup since 1967. That’s a 55-year gap since the Maple Leafs held any real power.

However, Toronto has been using a new strategy. In 2016, the Maples failed to qualify. Their core forwards and defenseman, William Nylander, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Morgan Rielly can easily be blamed for the failure.

This year, however, the team has earned more wins and gained more points than they have ever done in their history.

Perhaps, the Maple Leafs are the real underdogs.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been the Stanley Cup Champions for 2 years in a row. This season, they are hoping for the magic number 3.

The last time a team had won the Stanley Cup three years running was the New York Islanders who dominated from 1981 to 1983. No one has been close since, so the Tampa Bay Lightning are determined to reach this legendary goal.

However, Fanduel is rating the Lightning at +1,100 in the odds, which shows us all that this battle won’t be an easy one. If they miss this opportunity for a hat trick, you can bet that the next couple of years will be drowned in depression for the players.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes are not having a great start to this season. So far they are tied with the Boston Bruins even though their best defenseman (Charlie McAvoy) is out due to COVID-19 measures.

The Hurricanes are making mistake after mistake, proving their +1,100 rating true. They will need to get their head down and focus on strategy in their upcoming matches against the Boston Bruins to get them back on track.

Summary

There is still everything to play for as the Stanley Cup games are just getting started. Make sure to watch out for the ever-changing odds, but keep an eye out for these 6 teams above. These are the teams and players which are most likely to reach the playoffs, but anything can make this change.

Our money is on the Colorado Avalanche, they are staying strong and holding tight to their goal, but don’t count Tampa Bay out just yet!