No matter which team had won last year's Stanley Cup Finals, it would have been an incredible story. The Las Vegas Golden Knights seemed poised to make history by becoming the first expansion team in a major American sport to win a championship in their first season in existence. Instead, a different heartwarming narrative came to fruition. A modern-day legend, Alexander Ovechkin, finally overcame his postseason woes and led the Washington Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history by beating the Golden Knights in five games.
While the Golden Knights and the Capitals are very much in the middle of the playoff picture this time around, other franchises are stealing the headlines and catching the eyes of the oddsmakers in Las Vegas. The Tampa Bay Lightning have put together their best season in franchise history, surpassing their franchise-best point total of 113 back on March 16, with 10 games remaining on their schedule. They are essentially a lock for the Eastern Conference's top seed, but unlike the NBA, an 8-seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is more than capable of pulling off a first-round upset. Since 2001, seven top-seeded teams have been defeated in the first round by their wildcard counterparts.
In the Western Conference, the playoff picture is more muddled. The Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks are contending for the top spot, while the St. Louis Blues—who seemed left for dead before the All-Star break — dramatically increased their postseason odds by rattling off 11 straight wins from Jan. 23 to Feb. 19. If they can string together another streak like that, they could be a dark horse to make a run in the Western Conference.
With three teams mathematically eliminated from playoff contention (Red Wings, Senators, Devils), let's take a look at the Stanley Cup odds for the 28 other contenders who are hoping to make a run this March. Crunching odds from Bovada and stats from ESPN (last updated March 14, 2019), Stacker is taking a look at favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Teams are ranked by their odds to win, with ties broken by goal differential. Detroit, Ottawa, and New Jersey are excluded from this gallery because they do not have betting odds.
Will the Capitals get hot and make a bid to defend their championship from last season? Could the Islanders, with former Capitals coach Barry Trotz in tow, return to their playoff prominence of the early '80s? Read on to discover the likelihood of those occurrences and all other outcomes.
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