Steve Starr
- BetOnline’s updated odds have the Washington Capitals (+800) as the new Stanley Cup favorites
- The Arizona Coyotes’ odds jumped up to +1200 after acquiring star winger Taylor Hall from the Devils
- Currently sitting outside the playoffs, the preseason Cup favorites in Tampa Bay have seen their odds double to +1400
Decades from now, when hockey fans bounce their grandkids on their knee while telling stories about Alexander Ovechkin, why do I get the feeling that we’ll all start by describing The Great Eight’s epic 2018 Stanley Cup celebration rather than the fact that he went on top Gretzky’s career goals record?
Almost halfway through the season and oddsmakers seem to think we have a chance at a summer sequel, listing the Capitals as +800 favorites to once again drink liters of vodka from Lord Stanley.
Let’s examine the latest odds at BetOnline and look at all the risers and fallers on the board.
ODDS TO WIN STANLEY CUP
| Team | Current Odds | Trending | Before Season |
| Washington Capitals | +800 | ↑ | +2000 |
| Boston Bruins | +900 | ↑ | +1400 |
| Colorado Avalanche | +900 | ↑ | +1400 |
| Arizona Coyotes | +1200 | ↑ | +2500 |
| St. Louis Blues | +1200 | ↑ | +1600 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1400 | ↓ | +700 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +1400 | ↓ | +1200 |
| Dallas Stars | +1600 | ↑ | +2000 |
| New York Islanders | +1600 | ↑ | +2500 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +1600 | ↑ | +2000 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +1600 | ↑ | +1200 |
| Calgary Flames | +2000 | ↔ | +2000 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +2000 | ↑ | +3300 |
| Minnesota Wild | +2000 | ↑ | +3300 |
| Nashville Predators | +2000 | ↔ | +2000 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | +2000 | ↑ | +2800 |
| Buffalo Sabres | +2500 | ↑ | +5000 |
| Florida Panthers | +2500 | ↓ | +1600 |
| Winnipeg Jets | +2500 | ↓ | +1600 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +3300 | ↑ | +4000 |
| San Jose Sharks | +3300 | ↓ | +2000 |
| Vancouver Canucks | +3300 | ↑ | +4000 |
| Montreal Canadiens | +5000 | ↓ | +3300 |
| New York Rangers | +4000 | ↓ | +2500 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | +10000 | ↓ | +3300 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | +15000 | ↓ | +5000 |
| Anaheim Ducks | +25000 | ↓ | +6600 |
| New Jersey Devils | +25000 | ↓ | +2500 |
| Ottawa Senators | +25000 | ↓ | +15000 |
| Los Angeles Kings | +50000 | ↓ | +6600 |
| Detroit Red Wings | +100000 | ↓ | +10000 |
STANLEY CUP ODDS RISING
Led by Norris Trophy favorite John Carlson, the Capitals top the NHL with 53 points. Showing no signs of slowing down (8-2 record in last ten), Washington has upped their Cup odds from +2000 before the season opener to +800 today.
The Bruins looked every bit as dominant as last year’s Eastern Conference champions before hitting the skids with losses against the Kings, Senators and Blackhawks in recent weeks. Like Boston, Colorado’s odds have shifted from +1400 to +900.
Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8) playing with Ovi Jr. is too cute. ❤️
(? IG/nastyashubskaya) pic.twitter.com/2ojRoUylfL
— NHL (@NHL) December 18, 2019
After almost making the Western Conference Finals last May, the young Avalanche look ready to make a deep run thanks to star center Nathan MacKinnon (third in NHL scoring with 53 points) and Calder-favorite Cale Makar, who’s currently nursing an upper-body injury.
The Coyotes made the biggest jump on the board after acquiring 2018 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall from the Devils, moving from +2500 to +1200.
Currently leading the Pacific division and on track to collect their first postseason berth in eight years, Arizona will be without netminder Darcy Kuemper for the foreseeable future after the Vezina contender suffered a lower-body injury against the Wild on Thursday.
Taylor Hall’s agent: Re-signing with Coyotes ‘absolutely a possibility.’ https://t.co/LU1YoUFLBA pic.twitter.com/VQeoxnjzrX
— theScore (@theScore) December 20, 2019
As mentioned in our recent Eastern Conference odds update, both the Islanders (+1600) and Hurricanes (+2000) have also been outplaying preseason expectations, while MVP candidate Jack Eichel and his Sabres (+2500) are surprisingly holding down a playoff spot in the Atlantic.
STANLEY CUP ODDS FALLING
Sitting five points out of the East’s last wildcard spot, Tampa Bay’s Cup odds have doubled from +700 to +1400. Jon Cooper benched Nikita Kucherov on Tuesday night after last year’s Hart and Art Ross winner committed a costly turnover, but one has to wonder how long the Lightning coach will be behind the bench if his team doesn’t turn it around soon.
Listed at +1600 odds before the year, the Panthers — one of our best bets at +180 to miss the postseason — are now at +2500 and sitting outside the playoffs. Also dropping from +1600 to +2500, the Jets’ early-season struggles have been well-documented, but a bounce-back campaign from Finnish sniper Patrik Laine has kept them in a playoff spot for now.
Tampa Bay Lightning Respond to Nikita Kucherov Benching #TBLightning https://t.co/qzPtRnSwaM pic.twitter.com/DrvxDDkpIx
— Lightning Report (@lightning_fanly) December 20, 2019
Near the end of October, we tried to warn you not to bet the Oilers at +400 to win the Pacific division, and they have since gone on to lose eight of their past 11 games. While their odds have technically shortened from +4000 to +3300 since the start of the season, Edmonton is in a full-out freefall.
The Sharks saw a huge drop in their Stanley Cup odds (from +2000 to +3300), firing coach Peter DeBoer on December 11 after a five-game skid put the club under .500, but the Devils are the season’s biggest fallers, with their odds dropping all the way from +2500 to +25000.
If looking for a value bet over the holiday season, let me present the Pittsburgh Penguins (+1600), who are currently holding down a playoff spot with a 20-10-4 record despite missing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for large portions of the season.
Best bet: Penguins (+1600)
