NHL Betting Lines Released for First-Round Matchups Upon Return

On Tuesday, National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman went live on NBC Sports Network and NHL Network to release the Return-to-Play Plan. In his address, Bettman laid out a plan on how 24 teams will have the chance to fight for the Stanley Cup.
While the NHL hasn’t set a concrete date for return just yet, it has given sports fans a sense of hope that we’re close to getting back to normal in these trying times. A plan is actually in place, and that’s a lot more than we can say for the other professional sports in the United States.
The plan is to have the 5-12 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conferences play each other in a best-of-five series in order to move on to the next round. Luckily, Caesars Sportsbook in Las Vegas released odds for these matchups, so there is finally something for us to talk about in a betting sense.
Eastern Conference
5. Pittsburgh Penguins (-185) vs. 12. Montreal Canadiens (+165)
6. Carolina Hurricanes (-140) vs. 11. New York Rangers (+120)
7. New York Islanders (+105) vs. 10. Florida Panthers (-125)
8. Toronto Maple Leafs (-165) vs. 9. Columbus Blue Jackets (+145)
Western Conference
5. Edmonton Oilers (-135) vs. 12. Chicago Blackhawks (+115)
6. Nashville Predators (-135) vs. 11. Arizona Coyotes (+115)
7. Vancouver Canucks (-130) vs. 10. Minnesota Wild (+110)
8. Calgary Flames (-110) vs. 9. Winnipeg Jets (-110)
The winners of these 5-12 seeded matchups would then face off against one of the top four seeds that are awaiting. FanDuel Sportsbook even has odds for all the playoff teams to win the Stanley Cup. Let’s take a look at the odds from the top four seeds in each conference:
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Bruins (+600)
2. Tampa Bay Lightning (+600)
3. Washington Capitals (+900)
4. Philadelphia Flyers (+850)
Western Conference
1. St. Louis Blues (+1100)
2. Colorado Avalanche (+800)
3. Vegas Golden Knights (+850)
4. Dallas Stars (+1500)
It’s interesting to note that the teams with the top eight odds to win the Stanley Cup are the ones getting the play-in round bye. With all of those teams maybe not getting their legs under them as early, this could be a chance for some of the underdogs to slide up and make a miraculous run.
The 5-12 seeded teams with the best odds of winning the Cup are the Penguins (+1800), Oilers (+2300) and Maple Leafs (+3000). Another interesting team that could win it all would be the Rangers (+4000). Prior to the long delay, New York had been one of the best road teams in hockey, and all of these games will be played in a neutral location.
Of course, none of these games can take place until the NHL Players’ Association formally approves the plan to finish the season. The league and NHLPA still need to solve health and safety protocols and other issues, including where to play. Commissioner Bettman did say that there would be two cities – Hub 1 and Hub 2 – serving as the location for where all games will be played.