2023 Stanley Cup odds: Updated odds, favorites, predictions, picks on April 19 in first round

The first two nights of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are in the books and so far it’s been tough on the teams with home ice. The road teams took six of the first eight games and went 4-0 on Tuesday, outscoring the home teams 20-6. With Game 2 on the horizon can the home teams strike back and even those series? Will the heavily favored Boston Bruins continue to play at an elite level even while dealing with the flu bug. And most importantly what to the do odds from DraftKings Sportsbook say about the chances of the 16 teams now.

2023 Stanley Cup odds update: April 19

Biggest movers

Rising

The Seattle Kraken are the longest of long shots to even get out of the first round, but they went into Ball Arena and worked over the defending champion Colorado Avalanche pretty good in a 3-1 victory in Game 1. The Kraken can skate with the Avalanche and while Colorado has a deeper roster, goalie Alexandar Georgiev is basically a newbie in playoff games. Seattle is still an underdog in the series, but that number has dropped to +115. The Kraken have Colorado’s full attention.

The New York Rangers were among the favorites to win the Cup as the season ended, but there are plenty of question marks about their defense and tendency to play lackadasical hockey at times. But the blueshirts were all business Tuesday in a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils in Game 1. The earlier the Rangers can get going and get goalie Igor Shesterkin in a groove, the more difficult they will be as the playoffs move on.

Falling

The Toronto Maple Leafs laid a stinker Tuesday in a 7-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Leafs were dominated in 5-on-5 play and already have question marks in goal. Will coach Sheldon Keefe go back to Ilya Samsonov, who is now 1-7 in the playoffs or move on to Joseph Woll, who had a tremendous season in the AHL and won four of his five NHL starts this year? This was not the start Toronto wanted or needed and now they are +120 to win the series.

With all the injuries and roster adjustments the Vegas Golden Knights have done all season, it wasn’t a huge surprise to see them come out flat in a 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets despite the return of Mark Stone. The Golden Knights have a rich playoff history in their six years of existence, so there’s no need for panic yet, but Bruce Cassidy is going to have to find the right mix on this roster.

Best bet as of now

The Rangers at +1000 is the most appealing bet because on any night they have the makeup to be the best team in the NHL. They can make mistakes defensively, but Shesterkin is an elite goalie that will erase mistakes. An opening series against a rival might be just what the blueshirts needed to kick it into another gear.