2021 NHL Playoffs: Colorado Avalanche Favorites To Win Stanley Cup

A look at the odds going into the NHL Playoffs

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With the NHL regular season coming to an end and the playoffs starting this weekend, the hunt for the Stanley Cup begins.

From a betting perspective, DraftKings Sportsbook has listed the Colorado Avalanche as the favorites (+450) to win it all. They are followed by the Vegas Golden Knights (+550), Toronto Maple Leafs (+600), Carolina Hurricanes (+700), and Tampa Bay Lightning (+700) at the top of the oddsboard.

The Avalanche, Bruins, and Knights are the biggest liabilities at multiple sportsbooks, including BetMGM.

“The Avalanche have received the most tickets and handle to win the Stanley Cup," Christian Cipollini, Sports Trader at BetMGM, said. "Colorado is the sportsbook’s biggest liability and the team’s odds to win the championship have moved from +1100 to +450.

With all 16 playoff teams already having punched their tickets, here's how the Stanley Cup odds look for each team heading into the first round, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook:


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The Stanley Cup Playoffs are always exciting and this year is going to be even crazier thanks to the formatting tweaks. Because of the pandemic and Canada's closed borders, teams within the same division could only play each other to cut down on travel. This forced the NHL to create a division of the seven northern teams.

The same concept will carry into the first two rounds of the playoffs, as the top four teams within each division will play each other to move onto the Stanley Cup semis.

Will this new setup make for a lot of upsets? The oddsmakers sure hope so.

"The Stanley Cup Playoffs are often unpredictable, BetMGM will need an upset or two in the postseason," Cipollini said.

Colorado's been one of the favorites to win it all for a while now, and understandably so, as the Avs currently lead the NHL in goals scored per game during the regular season. Pittsburgh and Vegas rank second and third on the list.

My Pick

I'll be surprised if Colorado doesn't win it all. The Avalanche have arguably the best line in hockey with Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Gabe Landeskog.

A hot goalie is usually the key for a deep playoff run, and they have one of the best protecting their net in Philipp Grubauer. He has the fifth-lowest goals-against average in the league this year.

Because of the circumstances this year, I like the teams playing well to keep it going, and see favorites having more success in the first couple of rounds. As long as Colorado is healthy, they should be able to make the Stanley Cup Finals.

Betting insights (BetMGM):

Line movement:

  • Avalanche +1100 to +450
  • Maple Leafs +2200 to +700
  • Hurricanes +2200 to +750 

Highest Ticket%

  1. Avalanche 26.1%
  2. Knights 9.8%
  3. Lightning 7.2%

Highest Handle%

  1. Avalanche 30.8%
  2. Knights 11.4%
  3. Capitals 8.1%
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