2026 Stanley Cup Odds: Avalanches, Hurricanes Clear Favorites as Round 1 Continues

The NHL playoff bracket is set — and now the Stanley Cup Playoffs have begun.

Everyone is still chasing the Colorado Avalanche on the Stanley Cup odds board, as no other team in the West is shorter than 10/1, but the Eastern Conference has two clear favorites, with Carolina second on the board, followed by Tampa Bay and Vegas.

Here are the latest NHL odds to lift Lord Stanley's Cup, with the postseason getting underway today.

🏆Stanley Cup Final 2025-26 odds

Team		R1 Opponent
Avalanche	+270	Kings (Up 1-0)
Hurricanes	+350	Senators (Up 2-0)
Lightning	+700	Canadiens (Down 1-0)
Golden Knights	+800	Mammoth (Up 1-0)
Oilers	+1200	Ducks (Up 1-0)
Sabres	+1200	Bruins (Up 1-0)
Stars	+1400	Wild (Tied 1-1)
Wild	+1600	Stars (Tied 1-1)
Canadiens	+1700	Lightning (Up 1-0)
Flyers	+2700	Penguins (Up 2-0)
Senators	+3300	Hurricanes (Down 2-0)
Mammoth	+4500	Golden Knights (Down 1-0)
Bruins	+7500	Sabres (Down 1-0)
Penguins	+7500	Flyers (Down 2-0)
Ducks	+10000	Oilers (Down 1-0)
Kings	+15000	Avalanche (Down 1-0)

Odds as of 4-21, courtesy of BET99, one of our best betting sites. Sign up with our BET99 promo code, or get one of our other sportsbook promos.

Odds movement

4/21: The Flyers blanked the Penguins 3-0 in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead, bumping their Stanley Cup odds from 33/1 to 27/1. They're still underdogs, but the defense is legit. The Stars evened things up with the Wild, jumping from 19/1 to 14/1. Meanwhile, with the Hurricanes up 2-0 over the Senators after an epic 2OT win, Carolina is +350 to win it all, just behind the Avalanche.

4/20: The Canadiens drew first blood in their series vs. Tampa Bay, pulling off a Game 1 upset in overtime — the win jumped them up to 16/1, while the Bolts dropped from around 5/1 to +725.

4/19: After Minnesota's dominant 6-1 win at Dallas in Game 1 of their series, the Wild moved from +1650 to +1150, while the Stars tumbled from 11/1 to 19/1. The Flyers also made a big jump, going from +6000 to +3000 following their 3-2 win at Pittsburgh — and the Pens went from 27/1 to +4000.

4/18: With the Western Conference bracket finalized — and Colorado facing the veteran-laden Kings (as opposed to the upstart Ducks) — the Avs have moved back to longer than 3/1 on the first day of the playoffs. Vegas also leapfrogged Dallas on the board, moving slightly ahead at +1050.

4/14: Tampa Bay and Carolina have moved shorter than 5/1, while the Flyers have gone from 25/1 to +6000 after a late surge to sneak into the final spot in the Metro Division.

4/2: There hasn't been any massive movement atop the odds board, but the gap between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning is growing smaller.

Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers have moved from +1350 to +1200, but are yet to crack into the Top 3.

3/23: The Dallas Stars have broken into the Top 5, now sitting with the fourth-best odds at +950. They leapfrogged both the Golden Knights (+1050) and Oilers (+1350), who currently find themselves in a pillow fight for the Pacific Division.

The Top 3 remained unchanged: the Avalanche, Lightning, and Hurricanes. With teams starting to get eliminated from playoff contention, odds at the bottom of the table will eventually go off the board.

3/6: The Anaheim Ducks have seen a slight bump in odds (+6000 to +5000) after landing star defenseman John Carlson from Washington, while the New York Islanders bolstered their forward depth by bringing in center Brayden Schenn.

Detroit also added D-man Justin Faulk at the buzzer as the Red Wings aim for their first Cup run in a decade, and the Seattle Kraken acquired winger Bobby McMann in a deal with Toronto.

Colorado and Tampa Bay have held the Top 2 spots on the board since the New Year. One of the biggest falls from grace has come from the defending champion Florida Panthers, who now sit at +10000 after opening at +750.

Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account

Stanley Cup prediction

Latest pick: Vegas (+1100)

Call it the Torts effect, but the Knights have won six of seven since hiring John Tortorella — including wins at Edmonton and Colorado. More importantly, they've tightened up defensively, and will have the much easier path to the conference finals, going through the Pacific Division portion.

Vegas boasts incredible depth and talent, and is hitting its stride at the perfect time.

Bet	Odds	Bet date	Units
Vegas Golden Knights	+1100	April 4	1
Minnesota Wild	+1700	March 6	1

Any Canadian team to reach the Second Round of the playoffs is boosted to +100.
(not available in Ontario)

⚙️ Covers NHL betting tools

• NHL odds
• NHL free picks
• NHL player props
• Best NHL betting sites

Opening Stanley Cup odds

• Edmonton Oilers: +650
• Florida Panthers: +750
• Colorado Avalanche: +800
• Dallas Stars: +850
• Carolina Hurricanes: +900
• Vegas Golden Knights: +1200
• Tampa Bay Lightning: +1500
• Toronto Maple Leafs: +1300
• New Jersey Devils: +1800
• Los Angeles Kings: +2000
• Toronto Maple Leafs: +2000
• Winnipeg Jets: +2200
• Washington Capitals: +2800
• Vegas Golden Knights: +1800
• New York Rangers: +3000
• Ottawa Senators: +3300
• Minnesota Wild: +3500
• St. Louis Blues: +4000
• Utah Mammoth: +4000
• Vancouver Canucks: +5000
• New York Islanders: +6600
• Columbus Blue Jackets: +8000
• Montreal Canadiens: +8000
• Calgary Flames: +9000
• Nashville Predators: +9000
• Boston Bruins: +10000
• Detroit Red Wings: +10000
• Philadelphia Flyers: +10000
• Anaheim Ducks: +15000
• Buffalo Sabres: +15000
• Pittsburgh Penguins: +20000
• Seattle Kraken: +30000
• Chicago Blackhawks: +50000
• San Jose Sharks: +50000

📈 Stanley Cup betting trends

Here are some trends you may want to consider before placing a bet on the Stanley Cup.

• Repeat winners are more common than you think. Since 2010, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning have successfully defended their Cup once. Florida now enters that elite group.
• Top teams from the beginning of the year typically go on to win the Cup. Since 2010, just five teams with odds above +1,000 have gone on to hoist Lord Stanley.
• In the last 10 seasons, the Eastern Conference has won seven Cups.
• The President’s Trophy winner has gone on to win the Stanley Cup just eight times in the 35 years that both trophies have been awarded.
• A team has won 2+ consecutive Stanley Cups 16 times, with the Panthers just completing the task.
• The runners-up have gone on to win the Stanley Cup in the following season only once since 1990 (Pittsburgh Penguins 2009).

Despite losing in the Eastern Conference Finals again, books think next year may be the year for the Carolina Hurricanes. Following suit are familiar faces in Florida and Edmonton.

👑 Past Stanley Cup winners

Here are the last 15 winners of the Stanley Cup, their odds of winning just before the playoffs began (courtesy of Sports Odds History), and the team that lost in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Season	Stanley Cup Winners	Odds before playoffs	Runner Up
2024-25	Florida Panthers	+1000	Edmonton Oilers
2023-24	Florida Panthers	+800	Edmonton Oilers
2022-23	Vegas Golden Knights	+1,200	Florida Panthers
2021-22	Colorado Avalanche	+325	Tampa Bay Lightning
2020-21	Tampa Bay Lightning	+800	Montreal Canadiens
2019-20	Tampa Bay Lightning	+650	Dallas Stars
2018-19	St. Louis Blues	+1,250	Boston Bruins
2017-18	Washington Capitals	+1,225	Vegas Golden Knights
2016-17	Pittsburgh Penguins	+770	Nashville Predators
2015-16	Pittsburgh Penguins	+650	San Jose Sharks
2014-15	Chicago Blackhawks	+800	Tampa Bay Lightning
2013-14	Los Angeles Kings	+1,400	New York Rangers
2012-13	Chicago Blackhawks	+400	Boston Bruins
2011-12	Los Angeles Kings	+2,200	New Jersey Devils
2010-11	Boston Bruins	+800	Vancouver Canucks
2009-10	Chicago Blackhawks	+450	Philadelphia Flyers

As the Lightning appear set to fade a bit, the Panthers have reached consecutive Cup Finals and are favored to do it again next year.

🥅 NHL teams with the most Stanley Cups

Team	Stanley Cup wins	Stanley Cup appearances
Montreal Canadiens	24	35
Toronto Maple Leafs	13	21
Detroit Red Wings	11	24
Boston Bruins	6	20
Chicago Blackhawks	6	13
Edmonton Oilers	5	8
Pittsburgh Penguins	5	6
New York Islanders	4	5
New York Rangers	4	11
Colorado Avalanche	3	3
New Jersey Devils	3	5
Tampa Bay Lightning	3	5

The Habs have a comfortable lead in the clubhouse but haven't hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup since 1993 — the last Canadian-based team to do so.

Stanley Cup Odds FAQs

Pages related to this topic