They have been the favorite of oddsmakers late in the season, and now that the NHL Playoffs are set to begin on Wednesday, the Nashville Predators are maintaining that status. Bovada has the Western Conference winner at 7/2. Sportsbook.ag has them listed as the 9/2 favorite.
Tampa Bay, which begin the season as the top choice at 5/1, are second at 6/1. The Boston Bruins are third at 25/4. The surprise of the league, the Vegas Golden Knights, are fourth at 7/1.
The expansion team shocked hockey when they took over first place in the Pacific Division and at one point had the best record in the sport. They broke numerous records for a first-year team, including most victories, points and making the playoffs.
Midway through the season, Station Casinos sportsbook made the Golden Knights the favorites to win the Stanley Cup at 3/1. They began the season at 200/1, and 100/1 to win the Western Conference.
Tough Match Up
They will face the Los Angeles Kings, who were one of two wildcard teams from the West to get into the postseason. The Colorado Avalanche, which beat out St. Louis on the final game of the season, is the other.
Though the Knights are a higher seed, they are only a slight to win the series. They are a -130 to win the best of seven contest, while the Kings are a +110 to pull off the upset.
The two teams tied their regular season series. The Knights won the first two games, 4-2 on Nov. 19, and 3-2 on Dec. 28. On Feb. 26-27 the two played a back-to-back games and the Kings won both, 3-2 and 4-1.
“They have good players and we always have good battles against them,” Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “But we need to go in as a confident group and if we play our game and don’t worry about them, we’ll be fine.”
In Wednesday’s game the Golden Knights are a -130 to win at home. The Kings are a +110.
Battle of Pennsylvania
One of the other contests feature Philadelphia against two-time defending champion Pittsburgh. The Flyers finished behind the Penguins in the Metro Conference and will be the road team.
Philadelphia is a +195 to win the series, while Pittsburgh is a -225. The first game is Wednesday and the Penguins are the -185 pick. The Flyers are +160.
The 2017 Stanley Cup champions began the year as the favorite to repeat with 8/1 odds. They currently, however, are at 9/1. The Flyers opened in October at 40/1 and have moved to 33/1.
Washington, Anaheim Close Favorites
The Capitals finished first in the Metro Conference, but oddsmakers have them as only a -125 to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are at +125. Washington is 12/1 to win the Cup, while Columbus is at 33/1.
Anaheim has even slimmer odds in its first round opponent San Jose. The Ducks, who are 16/1 to win the title, are -125 to win the series, but the Sharks are even money to pull off the upset. San Jose is also 16/1 to win the Stanley Cup.
