The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has officially arrived and we’re down to the top eight teams. The Oilers are slight favorites to hoist the Stanley Cup on DraftKings Sportsbook thanks to the usual elite play from Conn Smythe favorite, Connor McDavid, but given the remaining field of talent and tight odds race, the top spot is very much up for grabs. Which team has what it takes to be champions?
Here are my favorite futures bets for the rest of the NHL postseason on DraftKings Sportsbook.
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Stanley Cup Winner
Colorado Avalanche (+650)
In my NHL futures article at the beginning of April, I banged the gavel for the Stars and stressed the importance of them being a complete team and I’m still confident in this series to last for seven games but uh, folks, the Avalanche are a wagon. With the exception of Edmonton, not many teams can keep up with their offensive firepower, which consists of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar, all of who ranked top six in postseason points during their championship run in 2022. Free agent additions and trade deadline acquisitions have made the depth even better, too.
The Avalanche have averaged a whopping 5.60 goals per game this postseason and have scored a league-high 28 goals in just five games — primarily against Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, one of the league’s top goaltenders, who finished with a .921 save percentage across 60 starts during the regular season. That didn’t matter for Colorado, though, as it dismantled Hellebuyck in five starts, ending his postseason with a .870 save percentage and 5.23 goals against on average (GAA). I’m relatively confident in the remaining Western Conference goaltenders to potentially help minimize some of Colorado’s scoring outbursts but considering Hellebuyck was just exposed, I may be eating my words in a few week’s time.
During the regular season, Colorado ranked eighth in both true (53.85%) and expected goal percentage (52.16%), first in goals per game (3.68) and fifth in shots per game (33.0). Has it translated to this postseason? Yes, and some. Colorado ranks first in true goal percentage (58.62%), second in expected goal percentage (56.98%) and first in both goals per game (5.60) and shots per game (37.0).
Note: I live in New York and do not have access to players futures markets and am unable to wager bets on the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, for example. However, if I was able to, I’d absolutely consider throwing some money on MacKinnon to claim it, considering Colorado’s remaining opponents and the likely need for offensive excellence and plenty of goals and points.
Eastern Conference Winner
Carolina Hurricanes (+300)
The Eastern Conference is just as stacked as the Western Conference. It’s very possible that each of the four teams remaining (Hurricanes, Rangers, Panthers, Bruins) has what it takes to win it all and I’m aware of the Rangers’ 1-0 series lead but I’m still leaning toward the Hurricanes to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. Much like the Avalanche-Stars series, it’s a shame that either the Rangers or Hurricanes won’t face each other in the Eastern Conference Finals because this series is going to be a good one and very likely will end in a Game 7. If Carolina drops Game 2 in New York on Tuesday night, we may be in some trouble but I trust in the coaching staff and talent to figure it out, if so.
Obviously, Carolina has to get through New York first, a team that has presented some clear mismatches over the last few seasons but I’m banking on its high-quality depth and playoff experience to be enough to get over the hump. Then if Carolina does advance, its opponent will be either Florida or Boston, two teams it has found general success against over the last few seasons. Carolina has topped Boston in six of the last nine meetings and Florida in four of the last five meetings.
Across six postseason games, Carolina ranks fourth in goals per game (3.67), third in shots per game (32.3) and fourth in true goal percentage (54.55%). One area for concern is certainly the penalty kill and power play units because they ranked first (86.4%) and second (26.9%) during the regular season, respectively. It doesn’t help having to face such an elite power play unit such as the Rangers but the Hurricanes pride themselves on the little things and if they can’t control the penalties, it’s going to be that much harder for the offense to keep them in these games. Ranking eighth and 15th on the power play (25.0%) and the penalty kill (61.5%) isn’t going to cut it in the postseason.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is huntersk) and I may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
