NHL Stanley Cup odds: Bruins remain the team to beat in wagering circles
Stop us if you’ve read this before: The Boston Bruins are huge favorites to win the 2022-23 Stanley Cup.
It’s been an ongoing theme for the better part of six months, as the Bruins started out 20-3 and haven’t looked back, rewriting both the NHL and franchise record books along the way.
Just how beastly has Boston been? It clinched the Presidents’ Trophy — awarded to the team that finishes with the most points each season — before April.
So, yes, the NHL Stanley Cup futures market has been and continues to be all about the mighty Bruins. However, with eight days remaining in the regular season, several contenders loom as legitimate threats to a Boston coronation.
Among them: The suddenly surging defending champions.
Here’s a look at updated NHL Stanley Cup odds and action heading into Thursday’s 14-game slate.
Odds updated as of 10:30 a.m. ET on April 6.
2022-23 NHL Stanley Cup odds
A sampling of the Bruins’ impressive accomplishments during what has been a magical regular season:
Fastest team to 50 victories in league history
Fastest team to 100 points in league history
Franchise-best 125 points (and on pace to break the single-season NHL record of 132 points)
Fourth team in NHL history to win 60 games (and on pace to break the single-season league record of 62)
All this from a club that fired its longtime coach after last season opened and this one at 25-to-1 to win its second championship in 51 years and first since 2010-11.
As you might expect from a juggernaut that has already made a lot of history — and is on the precipice of making more — Boston (60-12-5) has been a force at both ends of the ice.
The Bruins have scored the second-most goals in the NHL (282, at least 10 more than every other team but Edmonton). And they’ve allowed the least (163, a whopping 32 fewer than the next-stingiest team, Carolina).
Then there’s this stat: Four teams — the New York Rangers, Edmonton, Dallas and New Jersey — sport a goal differential between +54 and +57. Those teams all slot directly behind Boston, which has a +120 goal differential.
The Bruins’ worst “slump” this season? A 1-3-1 stretch from Jan. 26-Feb. 11 (spanning the All-Star break).
Number of times the Bruins have suffered consecutive regulation losses? Once, in mid-March.
All of this explains why Boston’s Stanley Cup odds have consistently shrunk — and why the gap between Boston and the rest of the field has consistently widened — with each passing week.
Another reason why the Bruins are prohibitive favorites: Bettors can’t get enough of them.
At BetMGM alone, 25.3% of all Stanley Cup bets made as of Wednesday morning and 35% of all dollars wagered on Stanley Cup futures were backing Boston.
2022-23 Stanley Cup odds: Can the Avalanche go back-to-back?
Nobody would argue that the Bruins haven’t earned their place atop the NHL futures odds board. At the same time, it would be foolish to suggest that the Bruins are a lock to win it all. Especially if you believe in these three words: Presidents’ Trophy jinx.
Since the prestigious award was first handed out in 1986, only eight teams have capped a spectacular regular season by lifting Lord Stanley’s Cup. And only two teams have done so in the last 21 years: the 2007-08 Detroit Red Wings and 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks.
(Ironically enough, the Red Wings and Blackhawks handed Boston those back-to-back regulation losses last month.)
In the decade since Chicago won it, only one Presidents’ Trophy winner has gotten as far as the conference finals (the 2014-15 Rangers).
So if the jinx lives another year and Boston slips up, which teams have the goods to reach the finish line first?
If you believe what you see in the current Stanley Cup futures market, there are nine legitimate contenders (odds shorter +2000) lined up behind the Bruins. Most notable among this group: the Colorado Avalanche.
Beset by injuries for a large chunk of the season, the defending Stanley Cup champs are finally healthy and in the midst of a late-season groove. The Avs head into Thursday’s game at San Jose on an 11-2 roll. Although Colorado (98 points) is in a three-way tie with Dallas and Minnesota atop the Central Division, all three teams have clinched playoff berths.
Same goes for the group of teams right behind the Bruins and Avs on the Stanley Cup odds board. The hottest of that bunch: Vegas (19-4-4 last 27), Edmonton (13-2-1 last 16) and the Rangers (10-2-2 last 14).
Minnesota, which is +2000 across the board to win the Cup, also has been dialed in of late (16-2-5 last 23).
Of course, if you prefer a contender with a recent Stanley Cup championship pedigree, well, there’s not much to choose from. Only four teams that have current odds of +2000 or better have won a title in the last dozen years: Boston (2011), Los Angeles (2012, 2014), Tampa Bay (2020, 2021) and Colorado (2022).
Beyond that, Carolina last won in 2006; New Jersey in 2003; Dallas in 1999; the Rangers in 1994; Edmonton in 1990; and Toronto in 1967. Vegas and Minnesota have never won a championship.
2022-23 Stanley Cup odds: Tracking the action
As previously noted, BetMGM is overloaded with NHL futures action on the Bruins. As such, BetMGM’s bean counters — and those at other sportsbooks that are in heavy to Boston — are hopeful that the Presidents’ Trophy jinx continues.
Colorado, which opened as the preseason +450 favorite at BetMGM, ranks second to the Bruins in both Stanley Cup tickets (12.8%) and handle (13.4%).
The Rangers are next in wagers (8.4%) and cash (11.4%), followed by the Maple Leafs (7% in both tickets and money). The Hurricanes are fifth in tickets (5.0%), while the Golden Knights are fifth in handle (5.1%).
As far as conference futures at BetMGM are concerned, it’s all about the Bruins in the East (48% tickets, 56%.2 cash). The Rangers (13.4% and 15.8%) are a distant second.
In the Western Conference, the book is lopsided to the Avalanche in tickets at 29.5%. However, Vegas has taken the most money (36.6%) to represent the West in the Stanley Cup final for the first time since the franchise’s inaugural season in 2017-2018.
The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.
