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The Colorado Avalanche are the first team to advance to the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Colorado dispatched the Nashville Predators with relative ease in four games. So far, the Avs are the only team to advance to the second round and will remain that way for at least another day. There are six series that are tied 2-2 and the Pittsburgh Penguins lead the New York Rangers 3-1 in their series. On Wednesday, the Pens can advance with a win at MSG. Every other series we’ll be waiting at least until the end of the week.
Let’s take a look at the updated Stanley Cup odds on DraftKings Sportsbook and how things have shifted over the past week and change.
2022 Stanley Cup odds, May 10
Avalanche +210
Panthers +600
Flames +800
Maple Leafs +900
Hurricanes +1100
Lightning +1200
Penguins +1300
Bruins +1400
Oilers +1600
Wild +1600
Blues +2500
Rangers +3500
Capitals +5000
Stars +5000
Kings +8000
There are a lot of spots we can get some value here. The Capitals are 50/1 to win the Cup and were an OT away from taking a 3-1 lead over the supposed top team in the NHL on Monday night. Had the Caps not blown that game and won, Washington is likely higher on this board. Even so, if the Caps can get past the Panthers, there’s no reason they can’t at least get to the conference finals. There’s some value on this line.
There’s value really everywhere on the board. While the Avalanche remain the top pick, you get a nice look at three East teams who have a good shot of making it out and into the Cup Final in Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and Boston. The Hurricanes are faltering. The Lightning-Maple Leafs series could go either way. Tied 2-2, you’ve got to lean toward the defending champs pulling it out. If that happens, we could see the Bolts jump up the Cup board and move closer to, say, 8/1 or 5/1.
With so many series close, you’ve got to assume one of these long-shots makes it into the second round. If we’re looking at the West, the Stars at 50/1 and Oilers at 16/1 stand out. Dallas had a shot to go up 3-1 but lost Game 4. Are they out of the series vs. Calgary? Definitely not. The Oilers should get past the Kings and wouldn’t have to deal with the Avalanche until the conference finals, which is ideal. The Wild or Blues getting past Colorado this year feels unrealistic. The deeper the playoffs get, the more of a chance I’ll give to the team going up against the Avs.
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