Updated 2023 Stanley Cup Odds and NHL Second-Round Series Prices
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The first round of the 2023 NHL playoffs is complete and featured two massive surprises, at least to oddsmakers, with the top-two favorites both losing in seven games. The Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins - who were the top-seed in the East and -350 favorites to advance - blew a 3-1 series lead to the Florida Panthers, while the defending Stanley Cup-champion Colorado Avalanche fell 4-3 to the second-year Seattle Kraken as -280 favorites.
Elsewhere in the West, the Vegas Golden Knights dusted aside the Winnipeg Jets (4-1), the Dallas Stars took down an injury-riddled Minnesota Wild (4-2), and Connor McDavid's Edmonton Oilers saw off a spirited challenge from the Los Angeles Kings (4-2).
In the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Maple Leafs finally overcame the Tampa Bay Lightning (4-2), the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders (4-2), and the New Jersey Devils overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat the New York Rangers in seven.
The table below shows the updated Stanley Cup odds at DraftKings Sportsbook for the eight remaining teams as of Tuesday, May 2.
2023 Stanley Cup Odds
The Leafs (+350) enter the second round as outright favorites to win their first Stanley Cup since 1967. McDavid and the Oilers are the favorites in the West at +425, meaning the top-two favorites are now from north of the border. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, with six teams losing in the final in that span (Vancouver 1994, 2011; Calgary 2004; Edmonton 2006; Ottawa 2007; Montreal 2021).
The longest shots on the board are the lowest-remaining seeds in each conference: Florida (+1000) and Seattle (+2000).
As the top seed in the West, Vegas is guaranteed home-ice advantage on that side of the bracket. Carolina is the top remaining seed in the East and actually finished with two more points than Vegas in the regular season (113 to 111) and thus will have home-ice advantage as long as they last in the postseason.
While Florida and Seattle are garnering most of the headlines after the first round, the other six teams that advanced had home-ice advantage.
The following table lists the odds to win each of the second-round series.
NHL Second-Round Series Prices
The team listed first in each matchup has home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series, hosting Games 1, 2, 5, and 7.
Dallas (-205) is the biggest favorite on the board in their matchup against a Seattle team that's perceived to be the weakest remaining. The narrowest odds come in the Carolina/New Jersey series, where the lower-seeded Devils are actually favored at -130.
Injuries on the Carolina side undoubtedly factored into the series price. The Hurricanes are without both Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen, two-thirds of their top line last season.
Other significant injuries include Dallas forward Joe Pavelski (concussion), N.Y. Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom (lower body), Seattle forward Andre Burakovsky (lower body), and Toronto goalie Matt Murray (concussion). But, outside of Carolina, the remaining teams are remarkably healthy for this time of year.
NHL Second-Round Schedule
The second round begins tonight with the Leafs hosting the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. ET, followed by the Stars hosting the Kraken at 9:30. The other two series commence on Wednesday: Game 1 between the Devils and Hurricanes is slated for 7:00 and Oilers vs. Golden Knights at 9:30.
Teams have one off-day between Games 1 and 2 with the remainder of the second-round schedule still to-be-determined.
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