2019-20 NHL Playoffs – Syndication Server

The NHL betting odds to win the Western Conference have been shaken up following the league’s announcement of a 24-team playoff format set to begin later this summer. Below, we make our picks and best bets to win the Western Conference and advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

2019-20 NHL Western Conference Odds: Favorites

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list.
Odds last updated Thursday, May 28 at 2:20 p.m. ET.

TEAM	ODDS
Colorado Avalanche	+325
Vegas Golden Knights	+350
St. Louis Blues	+450
Dallas Stars	+650

Colorado Avalanche (+325)

The Avalanche sat first or second in the Central Division for much of the 2019-20 campaign and finished the abbreviated regular season with 92 points in 70 games (42-20-8). Their plus-46 goal differential was the best in the Western Conference and their 237 goals scored were nine more than any other team in the conference.

The Avs were one of the most-heavily injury-ridden teams in the league at the time of the pause. C Nathan MacKinnon (lower body), RW Mikko Rantanen (upper body), C Nazem Kadri (lower body) and G Philipp Grubauer (lower body) were just a few who may have been in jeopardy for the beginning of a mid-April postseason. All are now expected to be back to full health.

The favorites in the West are well worth backing. A $10 bet will return a profit of $32.50 is they advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Vegas Golden Knights (+350)

Like the Avalanche, the Golden Knights are heavy favorites to make it out of the West. Las Vegas is a finalist to be named as a hub city for the postseason, potentially giving the Knights a key home-ice advantage.

Vegas went 39-24-8 through 71 games to finish atop the Pacific Division. RW Mark Stone (lower body), LW Max Pacioretty (lower body) and C Chandler Stephenson (upper body) should all be back in the lineup, giving the Golden Knights one of the deepest forward groups in the league.

Get some action on the NHL playoffs by placing a legal sports bet (in NJ, IN, CO and WV) at BetMGM.com.

2019-20 NHL Western Conference Odds: Long shots

TEAM	ODDS
Edmonton Oilers	+1000
Calgary Flames	+1400
Nashville Predators	+1400
Vancouver Canucks	+1700
Minnesota Wild	+1800
Arizona Coyotes	+2000
Winnipeg Jets	+2400
Chicago Blackhawks	+5000

Edmonton Oilers (+1000)

I chased value in my Eastern Conference picks, targeting strong goaltending and long shots with inflated odds. In the West, it’s all about the favorites with the odds being much more condensed.

C Leon Draisaitl and C Connor McDavid finished 1-2 in both points and assists in the regular season. They’ll draw the 12th-seeded Blackhawks in the Qualification Round and are heavily favored to advance to Round 1 of the 16-team playoffs.

Want some action in the 2019-20 NHL Playoffs? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

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The 2019-20 NHL regular season is officially over and hockey fans now wait for a 24-team playoff format to begin later this summer. The interruption in the NHL has created a never-before-seen wrinkle in the hunt for the Stanley Cup. Below, we’ll look at the betting odds to win the Eastern Conference and make our picks and best bets to make it to the Stanley Cup final.

2019-20 NHL Eastern Conference Odds: Favorites

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list.
Odds last updated Thursday, May 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET.

TEAM	ODDS
Boston Bruins	+300
Tampa Bay Lightning	+300
Philadelphia Flyers	+450
Washington Capitals	+450

Tampa Bay Lightning (+300)

The Lightning suffered one of the worst playoffs collapses on memory a year ago. The Presidents’ Trophy champions were swept in four games in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets while being outscored 19-8.

The lengthy pause in the 2019-20 NHL season has allowed C Steven Stamkos (abdomen) and D Victor Hedman (lower body) to return to full health. Heavily-used starting G Andrei Vasilevskiy will also be well-rested and back in top form after seeming to tire out in last year’s postseason.

The Lightning led the league with 245 goals scored in 70 games. Only the Bruins (plus-53) had a better goal differential than the Lightning’s plus-50. Look for them to use the extended time off and a Qualification Round bye to correct their wrongs from 2018-19.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Lightning to win the Eastern Conference returns a profit of $30.

Get some action on the NHL playoffs by placing a legal sports bet (in NJ, IN, CO and WV) at BetMGM.com.

2019-20 NHL Eastern Conference Odds: Long shots

TEAM	ODDS
Pittsburgh Penguins	+1100
Toronto Maple Leafs	+1700
New York Islanders	+2200
New York Rangers	+2200
Carolina Hurricanes	+2400
Blue Jackets	+2800
Florida Panthers	+2800
Montreal Canadiens	+5000

Columbus Blue Jackets (+2800)

The Blue Jackets loaded up at the 2018-19 NHL trade deadline and went on to win the franchise’s first playoff series since entering the league in 2000-01. Things seemed to fall apart in the offseason, as C Matt Duchene, C Ryan Dzingel and G Sergei Bobrovsky all departed via free agency.

The Jackets may have been destined to miss the playoffs under a normal 16-team format, as they sat at 33-22-15 through 70 games. They suffered a league-worst 15 overtime losses, including a 0-4 record in shootouts.

The goaltending tandem of Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins will be the biggest key to a long postseason run. They posted save percentages of .911 and .923, respectively, in the regular season. They’ll be matched up against the Maple Leafs in the Qualification Round, but they may have the home-ice advantage as a final contender to be a postseason hub city.

Florida Panthers (+2800)

The free-agent addition of Bobrovsky in goal was supposed to help turn the Panthers around and make them a frontrunner in the Eastern Conference for the better part of the next 10 seasons. However, the former Vezina Trophy winner played to a save percentage of just .900 with a 3.23 goals against average across his first 50 games of the season and the Panthers sat at 35-26-8 at the pause.

A good Bobrovsky is still a top-four goaltender in the East and the Panthers have one of the deepest forward groups in the conference. Trusting goaltending and backing long shots will be the key to turning a profit at the sportsbooks in these unprecedented NHL playoffs.