Stanley Cup Odds: Golden Knights Still Not Favored Despite Sweeping Avalanche

The Vegas Golden Knights completed the 4-0 sweep of the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final last night.

The Avalanche were the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup throughout the majority of the season and were significant favorites to win the Western Conference Final before the series began. The Golden Knights then beat them in four straight games, which was listed at 25-1 before Game 1.

Despite that, the Golden Knights still aren't favored to win the Stanley Cup. let's take a look.

Stanley Cup Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Hurricanes -110
Golden Knights +120
Canadiens +1000

The Golden Knights have already locked up a spot in the Stanley Cup Final, whereas the Hurricanes hold a slim 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final against the Montreal Canadiens. Even with that being the case, it's the Hurricanes who are set as the betting favorites to win the Cup at -110, an implied probability of 52.38%.

If we take a step back and remember how the regular season went, it makes more sense. The Hurricanes finished the season with the most points in the Eastern Conference with 113, whereas the Golden Knights won a bad Pacific Division with 95 points. Their 95 points were the same as the Washington Capitals, who completely missed the playoffs in the East. The Golden Knights also had fewer wins than the Red Wings, Panthers, Blue Jackets, Islanders, and Devils, all teams that missed the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

Let's not allow recency bias to take over our opinion of the Golden Knights. Yes, the sweep of the Avalanche was impressive, but if you look at the big picture, the Hurricanes are the clear best team remaining in the race for the Stanley Cup.

The Hurricanes are listed as -520 favorites to win the Eastern Conference Final ahead of tonight's Game 4. You can find my best bet for the side and total in tonight's game in today's edition of Top Shelf Picks.

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