Heading into March as the final full month of play in the NHL regular season, MyBookie online sportsbook has recently updated its futures betting odds to win this year’s Stanley Cup as well as both the Eastern and Western Conference Championship.
In light of the Atlantic Division’s Tampa Bay Lightning’s overall dominating play through their first 62 games of an 82-game schedule, they are heavy favorites to win both the East at +110 betting odds and the NHL title at +210.
The most competitive NHL futures bet on the board are the odds posted to win the Western Conference.
2019 NHL Western Conference Championship Futures - Top Favorite
The team at the top of the board to win the West is the surprising Calgary Flames as +300 favorites. The Flames missed the postseason in 2018 with the fifth-most points in the final Pacific Division standings. However, with 62 games in the books, they have a three-point lead over the San Jose Sharks with 85 total points. The only team in the NHL with more points is Tampa Bay (98).
Calgary continues to pick up steam heading down the stretch with a five-game winning streak heading into the final week of February. This is part of a 6-2-2 record over its last 10 games. The Flames have 20 wins in 30 games played at home and 19 wins in 32 road games. Behind left winger Johnny Gaudreau, they are ranked second in the NHL in scoring with 3.63 goals per game. Both Mark Smith and David Rittich have split time in goal to help Calgary post a goals-against average of 2.84 which is tied for ninth.
My only concern with the Flames heading into the postseason is the lack of experience in playoff hockey against a veteran team such as San Jose.
2019 NHL Western Conference Championship Futures - Top Contenders
The betting odds to win the West have been set at +450 for the top two contenders on the list. Along with San Jose in the Pacific Division, the Central Division’s Winnipeg Jets comprise this group.
San Jose has posted 82 points in 63 games, so it is well within striking distance to earn the top seed in its division as regular-season champs. The Sharks’ recent play has also been strong with a 7-2-1 mark over the last 10 outings. This is another team that has won almost as many games on the road (18) as it has at home (19).
Led by veterans such as Joe Pavelski at the top of the list in goals scored (35), San Jose is another team that knows how to light the lamp with an average of 3.62 goals per game. The Sharks drop back to 18th in the league in goals allowed (3.08), but goalie Martin Jones has the ability to carry this team deep into the postseason if he gets hot between the pipes.
In a head-to-head matchup against Calgary, I would go with the added value in the Sharks’ betting odds. I also think that San Jose has the best value on the entire board to make its way to this season's Stanley Cup Finals out of the West.
Winnipeg is another surprising team in the West this season with a slight one-point lead over Nashville in the Central Division title race. Through 62 games, the Jets have 78 points while the Predators have accumulated 77 points in 64 contests. Winnipeg has slid a bit with just three victories in its last 10 games to squeeze some value from its odds.
Nashville has gone 5-4-1 during the same 10-game span with St. Louis picking up steam at 8-1-1 to close the gap to six points with the Jets. When you throw Nashville in the mix as a +570 fourth-favorite along with the resurgent Blues rounding out the top five at +750 betting odds, even more value is sapped from Winnipeg winning the conference.
NHL Western Conference Championship Odds Posted at Bovada Sportsbook 03/04/2019
- Calgary Flames +320
- San Jose Sharks +330
- Winnipeg Jets +350
- Nashville Predators +500
- St. Louis Blues +700
- Vegas Golden Knights +800
- Dallas Stars +2100
- Colorado Avalanche +2500
- Minnesota Wild +2800
- Arizona Coyotes +4000
- Chicago Blackhawks +4000
- Vancouver Canucks +7000
- Edmonton Oilers +8000
- Anaheim Ducks +15000
- Los Angeles Kings +30000