The NHL's playoff picture is set, and 16 teams begin their quest for the Stanley Cup this week in the first round of the postseason.
Ending the season on a 6-1-0 run, the New York Rangers earned the Presidents' Trophy for the NHL's best record at 53-22-7. The Rangers are the biggest favorite of the opening round going up against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
New York is going off at -235 to win its series against Pittsburgh at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. When these two teams met in the playoffs last year, the Rangers erased a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Penguins in seven games. Pittsburgh stumbled down the stretch with a 4-9-2 record over its last 15 games.
The Rangers are 6-1 in their last seven games against Pittsburgh, according to the OddsShark NHL Database.
The Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Detroit Red Wings in the first round in the only other series with a big favorite as Tampa Bay is -200 over Detroit at +160. Tampa Bay is 7-2 in its last nine games against the Red Wings. Detroit scored 27 fewer goals than the Lightning while giving up 10 more goals over the course of the season.
Montreal is a -160 favorite on the NHL playoff betting lines against the Ottawa Senators (+140). This series pits two excellent goaltenders against one another in Vezina favorite Carey Price and Ottawa's Andrew Hammond, whose remarkable 20-1-2 run fueled the Senators in their surprise playoff push.
Rounding out the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Washington Capitals are a -150 favorite over the New York Islanders at +120.
The Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues finished tied atop the Western Conference standings with 109 points apiece, but both face tough first-round matchups. The Blues are a -145 favorite against the Minnesota Wild (+125), while the Ducks are a -160 favorite over the Winnipeg Jets (+140). The Wild surged into the playoffs behind Devan Dubnyk's 27-9-2 run, and Winnipeg ended the year on a 10-3-2 run to earn their wild card spot.
Also in the Western Conference, the Chicago Blackhawks are a -140 favorite on the NHL playoff betting odds over Nashville (+120) and Vancouver is a -140 favorite against Calgary (+120). Chicago enters the postseason on a four-game losing streak while Nashville has lost each of its last six games.
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