Lightning, Flames, Sharks Lead Stanley Cup Odds at All-Star Break
The Tampa Bay Lightning (37-10-2) and Calgary Flames (33-13-5) are the only two teams in the NHL with more than 70 points going into the NHL All-Star break, putting them atop the 2019 Stanley Cup odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Lightning are clear-cut favorites at +260 (bet $100 to win $260) while the Flames are tied with the San Jose Sharks (29-16-7) as co-second choices at +750.
Tampa Bay leads the league in scoring with 4.00 goals per game and currently has 13 points more than the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Islanders (29-15-5), who are listed at +2000 to hoist the Cup.
The Toronto Maple Leafs (30-17-2) are 14 points behind the Lightning in the Atlantic Division and listed at +800 along with the Winnipeg Jets (31-15-2), co-leaders of the Central with the Nashville Predators (30-18-4).
The Predators are coming off a 2-1 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights (29-19-4) on Wednesday, and they are next in line on the board at +1100 on the odds to win the Stanley Cup. Both Nashville and Vegas are down from where they were a year ago, with the latter dropping three of its last four home games before the break.
The Golden Knights did rout the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-3 last Saturday at T-Mobile Arena though, and they remain in the mix to win it all in their second season at +1400. Pittsburgh is listed at +1300.
Calgary is the team to beat in the Pacific Division after missing out on the playoffs last season followed by San Jose and Vegas. The Flames rank second in the NHL in scoring right now with 3.73 goals per game while the Sharks are third (3.60). It is worth noting that no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals (27-17-6) might be the most disappointing team heading into the break, riding their worst losing streak since 2014 at seven games. Still, the Capitals are second in the Metro, just three points behind the Isles.
Washington is +1800 to repeat, just ahead of New York, the Boston Bruins (27-17-5) and the Columbus Blue Jackets (28-17-3) at +2000. The Blue Jackets are third in the Metro while the Bruins and Penguins are sitting in the East's two Wild Card spots.