Bettors are backing the Vegas Golden Knights in their quest to win the Stanley Cup over the Carolina Hurricanes, beginning with Tuesday’s Game 1 showdown.
Key Takeaways
- The Knights just swept the Stanley Cup favorite Colorado Avalanche.
- BetMGM shortened the Hurricanes from -140 at opening to -155 in Game 1.
- DraftKings bettors submitted more player props on Knights winger Pavel Dorofeyev than any other player.
Betting insights from BetMGM shared with Covers showed that, among all Golden Knights versus Hurricanes picks, 58% of tickets and 68% of the Game 1 moneyline handle are on Vegas. That’s despite the team moving from +115 at opening to +125, while Carolina is now -155.
The Knights - currently +120 to be crowned champions - also have the public series advantage at BetMGM, claiming 10.4% of all tickets and 21% of the money wagered in the Stanley Cup odds future market. The Hurricanes (-145 series odds) have just 10% of wagers and 15.7% of the handle supporting them.
“Bettors have backed the Golden Knights throughout the season, making them a liability for us on the futures market,” said BetMGM senior sportsbook trader Matthew Rasp. “The Hurricanes are favorites to lift the Cup and that would be a favorable outcome for the book.”
FanDuel told a similar story, with 62% of bets and 59% of the pot supporting the Knights in the series. However, 53% of tickets and 69% of the Game 1 moneyline handle are on the Hurricanes, who will begin the series on home ice.
The Hurricanes were tied for the shortest Stanley Cup odds in the Eastern Conference when the playoffs began, tying the Tampa Bay Lightning at +500. They shortened to +275 in the second round and +175 in the conference finals before falling to their current value of -145, per BetMGM.
The Golden Knights followed a much different path. Their +1,000 odds at the beginning of the playoffs were well behind the Avalanche (+300) and tied with the Dallas Stars. They shortened to +600 in the second round but only moved to +575 in the conference finals, where they were sizable underdogs against the Avs.
However, a wildly unexpected 4-0 sweep in the Western Conference Final helped the Knights surge up the oddsboard to the +120 value at the time of writing.
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Setting the tone
Tuesday’s series opener represents just one of the four wins needed to claim the title, but history suggests it can go a long way toward shaping the series outcome.
Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven series own a 546-255 all-time record (68.2%), according to NHL Records. That number jumps to 74.7% for teams that open the series at home, while road teams that take a 1-0 lead have gone on to win 57.2% of the time.
Game 1 player props
Individual moments of brilliance and glaring mistakes often shift the balance of power throughout a series.
DraftKings Sportsbook shared with Covers that the most-bet NHL player props of the day all involve possible goal-scorers. Golden Knights winger Pavel Dorofeyev (+220), who scored 10 goals in 16 playoff games, topped the board, followed by Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven (+250) and Knights winger Mark Stone (+320).
Hurricanes center Seth Jarvis (+1,200) is responsible for the fourth most-bet prop of the day, claiming the most tickets for first goal-scorer. Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (+270 anytime goal-scorer) rounded out DraftKings’ five most popular player props.
Conn Smythe Trophy odds
Despite not being mentioned in any of the most popular player prop bets, Golden Knights winger Mitch Marner is the Conn Smythe odds leader at +150 at BetMGM. He has 11% of tickets and 17.5% of the handle, both the leading amounts for players still active in the playoffs.
Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen is a close second at +250 with 7.8% of bets and 14.6% of the pot backing him. Hurricanes winger Taylor Hall (+650) leads the chase pack but is only responsible for 2.3% of wagers and 2.2% of the money.
