NHL Season’s Final Week – Betting Odds and More

The 2023-24 NHL regular season is in the final stretch, a little over a week to go. Even though many of the playoff spots have been claimed, there’s still going to be games with meaning. 

There are a number of ways to bet on the NHL during the postseason. You don’t have to wait until then to start making those wagers, however. Now’s a perfect time to predict, and there are great options out there. 

A final few playoff spots are still undecided, so look at those markets as well. Here’s a look at some odds worth eyeballing heading into the regular season’s last week…

Winning the Division(s)

So, after this past Monday’s games, each of four division leaders had spreads of at least five points. In the Pacific Division, the Vancouver Canucks rallied at home to take down the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3. That division race has been tight throughout the season.

Vancouver and Edmonton meet in Alberta Saturday night, and if the Oilers have any shot of catching their British Columbia buddies, they need to win that game in regulation.  

Looking at the other divisions, the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and Dallas Stars are very short-priced choices. Boston is –2000 in the Atlantic, the Rangers -5000 in the Metropolitan and Dallas -6000 in the Central, respectively. 

Cup By Division

Odds to win the Stanley Cup have been out, some tightening ahead of the season’s final week. Instead of trying to find the winning team, consider taking out some insurance. 

Here are the odds “by quadrant” as of now, according to NHL Stanley Cup specials.

• Atlantic Division 5-2 (+250)
• Pacific Division 11-4 (+275)
• Central Division 3-1 (+300)
• Metropolitan Division 3-1 (+300)

With two (seemingly) legitimate contenders in each division, this is an interesting board.

By conference, the East is -110 to win the Cup, West at -120.

Beasts of East

There’s no shortage of qualified candidates in the Eastern Conference, with the odds atop the division shifting throughout the season.

As of this Tuesday writing, it’s the Carolina Hurricanes as favorites, priced at 33-10 (+330). That may seem somewhat strange, since the ‘Canes (105 points through Monday) do not figure to catch the New York Rangers (110) in the Atlantic Division. Proving no one-hit wonders, the Florida Panthers are second choice at 7-2 (+350). Florida had been favored over much of the season, but the wagering public figures Carolina is poised to go on a big run in the postseason. 

In a quirk of the schedule, the Hurricanes close out the regular season with four road games. The New York Rangers are next at 4-1 (+400), while the Boston Bruins, who were one-and-done after a record-setting performance last season, are at 9-2 (+450).

The rest of the gang is double-figures, beginning with the Tampa Bay Lightning at 11-1 (+1100).

As an aside, Carolina and Florida are 7-1 (+700) co-choices to win it all, as per NHL Stanley Cup odds.

Best in West

It was the Vegas Golden Knights winning their first-ever Stanley Cup last season, so the NHL Western Conference has bragging rights going into this postseason. A case could be made about which conference is deeper entering these playoffs.

Currently, the Colorado Avalanche are favorites to win the West this season, priced at 7-2 (+350). The Edmonton Oilers next on the list at 15-4 (+375). As was mentioned with the Carolina Hurricane in the East, neither Colorado nor Edmonton is leading its respective division. 

As Rudy Tomjanovich famously said about his Houston Rockets of the mid-90’s, “Do not underestimate the heart of a champion.” Thus, don’t doze on the Vegas Golden Knights at 11-2 (+550), while in between are the potent Dallas Stars as a 9-2 (+450) proposition. 

Just outside that leading group are the Winnipeg Jets (7-1, [+700]) and the Vancouver Canucks (8-1, [+800]). Neither has ever won the Stanley Cup, and no Canadian entity has won it in the last three decades.  

Now might well be the perfect time to “grab” the winner of both conferences. Odds will shrink once the playoff begins and the pretenders are dismissed.

As a reminder, Thursday, Apr. 18th, officially ends the regular season, while the Stanley Cup playoffs begin Saturday, Apr. 20th.