NHL Playoff Odds: Bet on Red Wings and Kings to Make Late Postseason Push

We're in the finals stretch of the NHL season with fewer than 10 games to go for teams across the league, and this year's race for the playoffs is a tight one.

Only 10 points separate the fourth-place and 11th-place teams in the Eastern Conference, while only eight points separate the fourth-place and 12th-place teams in the Western Conference. Not only that, but there are teams that have been staples in the NHL postseason that are way on the outside looking in this year, including the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Let's take a look at the latest standings in each conference, along with each team's odds of locking up a postseason berth.

NHL Playoff Odds

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Eastern Conference Playoff Standings and Odds

Hurricanes N/A
Sabres N/A
Lightning N/A
Canadiens N/A
Bruins N/A
Penguins N/A
Islanders -105
Blue Jackets +100
Senators +105
Red Wings +210
Flyers +230
Capitals +550
Devils N/A
Maple Leafs N/A
Panthers N/A
Rangers N/A

No team has mathematically locked up a playoff spot at this point of the season, but the Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Montreal Canadiens are all enough of a shoo-in that their odds have been taken off the board.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins don't have odds listed to make the playoffs, but FanDuel has their odds of missing the playoffs set at +1500 and +2000. If you translate those odds to implied probability, they both have a better than 90% chance of making the postseason.

That leaves the New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington Capitals left to battle it out for the final two spots.

The Islanders and Blue Jackets currently have the upper hand, but the Senators, Red Wings, and Flyers are certainly still in the mix. Unfortunately for the Islanders and Blue Jackets, they have two of the three toughest remaining schedules.

The Red Wings could be an interesting bet at +230 to sneak into a playoff spot. They're two points behind the Blue Jackets with a game in hand for the final wild card spot, and they have some favorable matchups down the stretch against the likes of the Rangers, Devils, Panthers, and Flyers.

Western Conference Playoff Standings and Odds

Avalanche N/A
Stars N/A
Wild N/A
Ducks N/A
Oilers N/A
Mammoth N/A
Golden Knights -750
Predators +320
Kings +125
Jets +550
Sharks +230
Kraken +650
Blues +3000
Flames N/A
Blackhawks N/A
Canucks N/A

The Avalanche and Stars have already locked up a spot in the playoffs, and the Wild and Ducks aren't far away from joining them. The Oilers and Mammoth still need to close things out, but they have enough of a lead in the standings that their odds have been taken off the board.

The Golden Knights sit at -750, an implied probability of 88.24% of clinching one of the final postseason berths, given their six-point lead on the Kings for the final guaranteed Pacific Division spots.

That leaves the Predators, Kings, Jets, Sharks, Kraken, and Blues to battle it out for the last wild-card spot. Only four points separate those six teams heading into the final weeks of the season.

The favorite right now is the Kings, and for good reason. Los Angeles has the easiest remaining schedule in the NHL. They have nine games left to play, and not a single one of them is against a team currently in a playoff spot. Two of those are against the Vancouver Canucks, by far the worst team in hockey.

Jump in now on the Kings at +125 before it's too late.

Claim the FanDuel Sportsbook promo code offer to get up to $3,000 in bonus bets. Simply sign up, make a deposit and you will receive up to $300 in bonus bets for losing bets for 10 consecutive days.

Follow Iain on X and Instagram

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

You can check out all of Iain's bets here!