Stanley Cup Starts Tonight: Lightning Heavy Favorites
Contents
In what was an odd and unusual season with the unique divisions and conferences this year, the Stanley Cup has a chance to return home to Canada after being won by American teams over the last 28 years. The Lightning came into the season as one of the better favorites, but as often, the bettors made a pivot from going with back-to-back winners. The Lightning winning last season shifted a lot of the public money off of them for upcoming futures. As for Montreal, they were not considered to be a contender, nor really even a wild card, but they have made a miraculous postseason run.
Preseason Futures
The Lightning came into the season as +1000 favorites to win the Stanley Cup, where the Canadiens came in as +5000. Just before the playoffs, the Lightning moved to +750, and the Canadians were +2500. Neither team winning will crush the sportsbooks, as the Bruins, Golden Knights, and Avalanche saw a majority of the tickets placed. This matchup is a win for sportsbooks everywhere based on futures.
Series Odds
On BetMGM, the Lightning are -275 to win the series. Overall they have one of the largest series moneylines in history, ranking inside the top five for largest in a Stanley Cup Finals series. On DraftKings, the Lightning are -286 favorites to win, and on FanDuel, they are -260 favorites. Not much difference between the three major sportsbooks, but FanDuel has the better odds if you are looking to bet on the Lightning and if you are taking the Canadiens, head to DraftKings for the best odds.
Game 1 Odds
No surprise to see the Lightning favored in Game 1, as they should be favorites in each game. They are -200 on the moneyline and +146 to win by two or more goals. Oddsmakers are also expecting a lower scoring game, with the under being at -170. The Stanley Cup generally produces some lower-scoring games with it being more defensive, but we have seen both teams put up big offensive numbers at times.
Conn Smythe Winner
At BetMGM, the two picks have been Brayden Point and Andre Vasilevskiy, who both have seen the highest handle and ticket percentage. Nikita Kucherov and Carey Price are next. The Price pick is an interesting one, given if the Canadiens win, Price is likely going to have to stand on his head to stop this juggernaut offense. Otherwise, the Lightning are going to send one of their top scorers to pick up the award.
