The New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks are favored to win the Stanley Cup as the NHL playoffs approach.
The New York Rangers are playing some of their best hockey of the season down the stretch, with a 21-6-3 record over their last 30 games. The Rangers are firmly in the hunt for the Presidents' Trophy for the NHL's best regular season record, and they are also the current favorite on the odds to win the Stanley Cup.
New York is going off at 13/2 to lift Lord Stanley's Cup at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Rangers have done an excellent job of building on the momentum of last year's run to the Stanley Cup Final, ranking third in the NHL in both goals for (3.0) and goals against (2.3).
The well-rounded Rangers are going to be tough to beat in a seven-game series, especially with Henrik Lundqvist back between the pipes.
Another team that will be tough to beat in a seven-game series is the Chicago Blackhawks, winners of two of the last five Stanley Cups. Even without Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks have continued to play elite hockey with a 7-3 record over their last 10 games heading into Thursday night. The Hawks would pay 7/1 to win the Stanley Cup.
A popular pick out of the Western Conference this season is the Minnesota Wild, who have moved up to 8/1 odds to win the Stanley Cup. After starting the season off 18-19-5, the Wild acquired goaltender Devan Dubnyk and everything changed. The team went 26-6-1 over its next 33 games, with Dubnyk posting a 1.70 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. A red-hot team with a red-hot goaltender could be the recipe for success for the Wild.
With an NHL-best 107 points and a four-game winning streak, the Anaheim Ducks are probably feeling slighted by their Stanley Cup betting odds at 9/1. The Ducks have strung together another brilliant regular season and pushed the eventual champion Los Angeles Kings (16/1) to seven games last year. Can the Ducks get over the hump this year?
Other potential Stanley Cup contenders include the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning at 10/1, the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins at 14/1, and the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders at 18/1.
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