The Tampa Bay Lightning (37-10-2) are the top team in the NHL with 76 points and are the favorite to win the Stanley Cup at 4-to-1 odds, according to the South Point Casino and Sports Book in Las Vegas.
With the NHL All-Star Game in the books, the second half of the season is ready to resume. The Lightning lead the Eastern Conference, while the Calgary Flames are the best team in the Western Conference with 71 wins. The Flames are currently 10-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup.
The sole professional sports team in Las Vegas, the Golden Knights, are the second-most popular team on the board at 5-1. The Knights lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Washington Capitals in five games. The Caps are 10-1 favorites to repeat.
2019 Stanley Cup Odds:
Tampa Bay Lightning 4/1
Las Vegas Golden Knights 5/1
Nashville Predators 7/1
Winnipeg Jets 8/1
Toronto Maple Leafs 8/1
Washington Capitals 10/1
Calgary Flames 10/1
Pittsburgh Penguins 10/1
San Jose Sharks 10/1
Boston Bruins 12/1
Colorado Avalanche 15/1
Buffalo Sabres 15/1
Columbus Blue Jackets 20/1
Dallas Stars 30/1
Montreal Canadiens 40/1
New York Islanders 40/1
Carolina Hurricanes 60/1
Anaheim Ducks 75/1
Minnesota Wild 75/1
Florida Panthers 80/1
Vancouver Canucks 100/1
Phoenix Coyotes 100/1
Edmonton Oilers 100/1
St. Louis Blues 150/1
Philadelphia Flyers 150/1
New Jersey Devils 200/1
LA Kings 200/1
Chicago Blackhawks 300/1
New York Rangers 300/1
Detroit Red Wings 500/1
Ottawa Senators 500/1
Strong Island
Barry Trotz won the Stanley Cup coaching the Washington Caps last season. After he secured Washington their first and only Cup, he headed north to Long Island to help turn around the Islanders (29-15-5). Trotz is the early candidate for Coach of the Year after his remarkable job with the Islanders. They are currently second in the East with 63 points.
The Islanders went from the worst defense in the NHL to the best in just one season. Goalies Robin Kehner (2.02 goals against) and Tom Greiss stepped up. Kehner leads the NHL in save percentage at 93.1 percent.
The Islanders gain is the Caps loss. The defending champs hit the skids going into the All-Star break. No team needed time off more than the Caps. Despite their recent woes, Alex Oveckin is still the top scorer in the league with 37 goals.
High-Flying Lightning
The Lightning are in first place in the Atlantic Division with 37 wins and 76 total points. They lead the league in overall scoring with 4.00 goals per game. Tampa boasts the top-ranked power play that scores at a 29.5 percent clip. They have the sixth-best penalty kill in the league with 83.5 percent.
Winger Nikita Kucherov leads the team in scoring with 78 points. Center Brayden Point leads the Lightning in scoring with 30 goals.
Preds Lurking
The Nashville Predators (30-18-4) are lurking about with 64 points. They currently sit in the fourth spot in the West, but could easily be in second overall behind the Flames. They don’t have guys who score a ton of goals and their 13.1 percent power play is one of the worse in the NHL. Credit their goalies for keeping them in games. Finnish vet Pekka Rinne is saving 91.5 percent of shots this season for Nashville.
Calgary is the best team in the West, yet they are only 10-1 favorites to win the Stanley Cup. The Predators are 6-1 odds to win the Cup. A feisty Winnipeg squad is also in the mix. The Jets (31-15-2) have 64 points and are stuck with the Preds chasing the Flames. The Jets are listed at 8-1 odds to go all the way.
