Who Has the Best Odds to Make the NHL Playoffs?
As of April, 2024, many teams are "off the board" in terms of their odds to make the playoffs. One reason for this is simply because some teams have already clinched a playoff berth. Sportsbooks will also do this when odds become too short, forcing them to take on too much risk. Top teams still on the board are the the Los Angeles Kings (-8000), the Washington Capitals (-125) and the Detroit Red Wings (-120).
What are the current odds to make the NHL playoffs? According to DraftKings Sportsbook, here are the NHL teams that have not yet clinched, but have the best chances to make it to the postseason as of April 4, 2024.
These are the teams that have already clinched a playoff spot:
- Boston Bruins
- Florida Panthers
- New York Rangers
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Dallas Stars
- Colorado Avalanche
- Vancouver Canucks
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Best Odds to Win Each Division
The Rangers remain the favorites in the Metropolitan division. They had a five-point lead over second-place Carolina in the first week of April. With only six games remaining, the Hurricanes will be hard pressed to catch them.
The Bruins are favored to win the Atlantic division. In early April, they held a slim four-point lead over the Panthers, the defending Eastern Conference champion. With the Maple Leafs a distant third, it's shaping up as a race between the Panthers and Bruins for Atlantic supremacy.
The Dallas Stars are currently favorites in the Central division, but the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets, one of the surprise teams this year, are close behind. There has been little separation among these three teams for the past month. The Avalanche won the division the past two seasons while the Stars haven't won the Central since 2016.
The Vancouver Canucks have also had a season that has caught the oddsmakers off guard. Currently the favorite to win the Pacific division, the Canucks can see the Edmonton Oilers charging in the rearview mirror, but with the regular season drawing to its conclusion, they should wrap up the division soon. The Canucks lead the league in goals scored by a wide margin.
Best Odds to Win Each Conference
As of April 4, the Carolina Hurricanes (+300) had the best odds to win the Eastern Conference. The Colorado Avalanche, meanwhile, are the favorites to come out of the West (+350). The Edmonton Oilers are right behind Colorado at +380.
Best Odds to Win NHL Finals
The Carolina Hurricanes are the favorites to win the Stanley Cup with +650 odds as of April 4, 2024. Right behind them in the odds are three teams: the Florida Panthers (+700), Colorado Avalanche (+700) and Edmonton Oilers (+750). The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights are in the mix at +1200.
Possible Dark Horses in the NHL Playoffs
Watch out for the Winnipeg Jets. No one is talking about them, but they're playing some terrific hockey. They are the second-best defensive team in the Western Conference. Only the Kings have given up fewer goals. Over in the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes are on a hot streak. The Islanders have been one of the surprise teams of the season, but they still have to clinch. They resided in fourth place in the Metro and had odds of +170 to make the playoffs as of 4/4/24.
How the NHL Playoffs Work
Eight teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs. The top three teams from each division get in as well as two wild card entrants from each conference. The lowest seeded wild card will play the division winner with the most points, and the other wild card plays the other division winner while the second- and third-place teams from each division square off in the first round. In each subsequent round the bracket is reseeded with the highest-seeded teams always playing the lowest-seeded team. The winner of the fourth round of the playoffs is crowned champion.
How to Bet on NHL Playoff Games & Futures with Online Sportsbooks
Go to your favorite Ontario sports betting site and open an account. Then search for the odds on whatever bet you would like to place. You can bet on games, on postseason awards, futures, prop bets and more. At DraftKings, for example, if you’d like to bet on your favorite team to make the playoffs you can navigate to the ‘team futures’. Once you see ‘team futures’ click on icon. From there, you can see the odds for the champion, the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, all four divisions as well as the odds for making the playoffs. If, for example, the Maple Leafs are +145 to make the playoffs you would win $145 on a $100 bet if they qualified. You can place the bet at any time during the season. The same applies for the champion odds, the conference favorites and the division favorites. If you’d like to bet on individual games there are three bets you can place – the moneyline, puck line and over/under. The moneyline bet is the traditional hockey bet where you simply pick the winner of the game. Puck line bets are betting the spread in hockey, which can be tricky because final scores are often influenced by empty net goals.
What Does "Off the Board" Mean in Sports Betting?
In sports betting, the term "off the board" means a game, event or circumstance (eg. a team chances of making the playoffs) is temporarily unavailable for wagering. Why do sportsbooks do this? They remove wager opportunities from the board to manage risk, whether due to uncertain player status, suspicious betting patterns or unexpected events impacting the outcome and requiring odds adjustments. The sportsbook wants to protect itself from bets made with an unfair advantage due to changing circumstances. While frustrating for bettors who want to get their wagers in, it's a way for sportsbooks to ensure fair play and maintain reliable odds.
When it comes to futures, such as the likelihood that a team will make the playoffs, sportsbooks remove teams once the odds that they won't make the playoffs are remote or impossible. In this case, the sportsbook assumes too much risk by allowing bettors to place wagers on something that almost certainly will occur.
NHL Playoffs FAQ
The NHL playoffs begin April 22.
Sixteen teams -- 8 from each conference -- qualify for the playoffs.
Futures betting are wagers that are placed on events that will happen in the future. For example, you can place a bet in the summer or fall on which teams will win in the playoffs, which don't begin in the spring.
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