Stanley Cup Playoffs predictions: Best bets for each conference, finals winner

It’s one of the most exciting times of the year as the Stanley Cup Playoffs get under way on Saturday with two Eastern Conference matchups.

The playoffs begin with the Islanders taking on the Hurricanes, followed by Maple Leafs vs. Bruins.

You can already place bets on various markets for the playoffs. Here are just a few categories you’ll find on FanDuel:

One of the biggest markets is the NHL futures and an outright winner of the 2024 Stanley Cup. Here are the current odds for all teams in the playoffs this year:

This season, the New York Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy, given to the team with the best regular-season record. While the Rangers looked dominant in the final stretch of the season, it is by no means an indicator of playoff success.

It has been more 10 years since a Presidents’ Trophy winner won the Stanley Cup (Blackhawks in 2013). In fact, over the entire history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Presidents’ Trophy winner has only won eight times.

The Presidents’ Trophy winner’s average playoff exit is in the second round, so I would be wary of betting the Rangers to win it all.

Some sportsbooks have options to pick team results in the postseason, specifically how many rounds they will win. If you can bet two rounds or less for the Rangers, that can be a sharp option based on the history of the award winners.

I’m a big fan of betting teams to appear in the conference final or win their conference if you don’t want to pick an outright winner of the Stanley Cup. You’ll still find plus-money odds, and it relieves the pressure of that team having to win the Stanley Cup Finals.

I think this could be exceptionally valuable in the Western Conference. There are a few heavyweights in the West but only one can escape to the finals.

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I think both the Dallas Stars and the Edmonton Oilers could be candidates to win the conference at +400 each. Alternatively, you can essentially pick the team to appear in the conference finals by taking a team special for the Oilers or Stars to win two or more series at +165 and +285, respectively.

The Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup at +700 is exceptional value. Last season, they played the role of a gritty upstart taking out the vaunted, record-breaking Bruins in the first round.

Now they return after losing the Stanley Cup Finals last season. The Panthers have a lot of talent — from Sam Reinhart (57 goals), Matthew Tkachuk (62 assists) and on the backend with defenseman Brandon Montour and Sergei Bobrovsky (third-best goals against at 2.37 per game) in net.

I think the Panthers could be motivated to finish the season with a championship after coming up shy a year ago.

The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.