Stanley Cup Playoffs Odds Preview & Trends

The puck drops on the NHL playoffs Wednesday night and the Chicago Blackhawks will begin the postseason as the Stanley Cup betting favorites.

At the Bovada Sportsbook the latest Stanley Cup odds have Chicago favored at +400, followed closely by the Washington Capitals at +450. The defending Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins check in at +800, odds they share with the Minnesota Wild.

Chicago begins their playoff run with a first-round series against the Nashville Predators. Chicago was 4-1 versus Nashville this season and they’re a strong 9-1 in their last 10 against them at home. These two faced off in the playoffs before in 2015 and 2010 and Chicago won both series 4-2.

Sticking in the Western Conference, the rest of the first-round matchups include Minnesota versus the St. Louis Blues, the Anaheim Ducks versus the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers versus the San Jose Sharks.

The Wild and Blues split their season series 2-2, but St. Louis is 5-2 in the last seven meetings. Minnesota does hold home ice in the series and they’re 6-3 in their last nine home games against St. Louis.

Anaheim has dominated Calgary for years, and went 4-1 against them this season. In their last 12 versus the Flames, Anaheim is 11-1 and at home they’ve won 27 straight against them.

Edmonton returns to the postseason for the first time since 2006. They were 3-2 against San Jose this season and defeated them 4-2 just last week. In their only previous playoff meeting in 2006 Edmonton won the series 4-2.

In the East, the Capitals begin the postseason against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Washington won the season series with Toronto 3-1 and they’re 7-1 in their last eight meetings. At home the Caps have won seven straight against Toronto.

The Ottawa Senators must love that they’ve drawn the Boston Bruins in the first round. Ottawa was 4-0 versus Boston this season and they’re 8-1 in their last nine against them.

The Penguins begin with a tough series against the Columbus Blue Jackets. They split their season series 2-2 with the home team winning every game. They also met in the 2014 playoffs and the Penguins won the series 4-2.

And the last opening-round series is an Original Six matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers. Montreal was 3-0 versus New York this season and is 6-1 in its last seven. Since 1950 these two have met 11 times in the postseason with Montreal winning six series. However, New York has won the last two, including their last matchup in 2014.