The 82-game regular season is over and 16 teams have made the 2024 NHL playoffs and that field has been cut down further to eight teams now that we're in the second round.
Now it's time to look at that bracket and see who has the best path to hoist the most beautiful and the hardest trophy in pro sports to win.
It's Stanley Cup playoff time baby!
Playoff Series Betting Previews
Here are the betting previews we've got for each second-round series matchups:
Eastern Conference Winner Odds
Looking at the oddsboard you'll notice that the New York Rangers, who led the East and who won the Presidents' Trophy have the odds to win the East.
| Teams | Odds |
|---|---|
| New York Rangers | +240 |
| Boston Bruins | +280 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +300 |
| Florida Panthers | +320 |
Odds as of May 7
Eastern Conference Favorite: New York Rangers
I don't trust the Rangers as far as I can throw them. Sure, they're up 1-0 on the Hurricanes but look, New York was the second-best team on the ice in Game 1. They lost the xG battle at both 5on5 and in all situations.
The power play was their saving grace with two gaols on two opportunities. That's just not going to keep happening in this series. Carolina has an outstanding penalty kill and has only allowed more than one power-play goal in a single game eight times in 88 games (regular season and playoffs) or 9%.
New York might be 1-2SU this season against Carolina, but they've also held a -3 goal differential.
Plus we've got that President's Trophy curse to contend with here.
Eastern Conference Value Bet: Florida Panthers
They lost one game and everyone is willing to give up on the Florida Panthers. Shame! I saw that loss in Game 1 coming a mile away. Playoff teams just aren't very good with three or more days of rest between games. Since 2019 they're 69-62 SU. That's barely a winning record at 52%.
And since 2022, the Panthers are 8-5SU on home ice. A bounceback in Game 2 is definitely on the cards. Then watch their stock rise. Don't forget that the Panthers have either been outright favored or co-favored to win the East since the All-Star break. This is a really good time to back Florida while sportsbooks overreact to a Game 1 loss.
Western Conference Winner Odds
| Teams | Odds |
|---|---|
| Edmonton Oilers | +180 |
| Dallas Stars | +240 |
| Colorado Avalanche | +260 |
| Vancouver Canucks | +650 |
Odds as of May 7
Western Conference Favorites: Edmonton Oilers
Getting through the LA Kings in the first round seems like an annual playoff tradition for the Oilers. They've done it three times now. This time they beat them pretty handily with a five-game gentleman sweep but nearly outscoring them by double in the series.
Now they face a Vancouver team that's without their first and maybe even second-string goalie? The Oilers should take that series, and rather quickly. Odds makers agree with the Oilers at -260 to win the series and a 4-2 Edmonton series win is favored at +300.
The last four times Edmonton was eliminated from the playoffs, goaltending really let them down with their opponents averaging 4.22 goals above expected in each series. Again LA, Stuart Skinner held a respectable (and more importantly sustainable) +0.2 goals saved above expected. He wasn't out of this world, but he did as expected which is far less than what we've seen from previous Oilers goalies.
To me, that's a good sign as to why Edmonton can go on and win against Vancouver and take the West.
Wester Conference Value Pick: Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are 34-16SU (68%) against Western Conference opponents.
Having Makar, Rantonen and MacKinnon is a massive advantage. That's three of the top 10 scoring players in the past two playoffs (who've played at least 10 games). That trio has combined for exactly 100 in 27 games.
So, with elite scoring at one end as well as the duo of Annunen and Georgiev stopping goals at the other, and then Colorado's incredible record against Western foes, it's easy to see why they're a value play here.
How To Bet On The NHL Playoffs
There's way more than betting on Conference champions. We've got a ton of markets for you. Maybe you want to take your Conference Finals pick one step further and bet on the Stanley Cup odds. We'll also have you covered with daily NHL expert picks throughout the post-season.
As you follow along by tailing our picks or making your own picks to beat the books, make sure to check out our NHL Computer Picks page to support your handicapping.
