The road to the Stanley Cup is getting rockier
The final four teams in the NHL are set to drop the puck this week.
It’s Vegas and Colorado battling it out for the Western Conference Finals, and Montreal vs. Carolina for the Eastern Conference Finals.
NHL odds have been leaning toward the Avalanche since the earliest part of the regular season, but the other three contenders have legitimate paths to the Stanley Cup, too.
NHL betting-wise, there might not be much juice left in the Avs’ odds, but there are enough edges to be found all over the board.
Vegas Golden Knights vs Colorado Avalanche
The series price for Vegas already has them as a fairly heavy ‘dog before Game 1 starts.
NHL oddsmakers have the Vegas-Colorado odds hovering around +230 for Vegas, -285 for Colorado. They can’t ignore the regular season numbers that fill their models, and the Avs were just a wagon all season. 121 total points, a +99 goal differential, and Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar will skew the odds no matter who you are.
But NHL playoff odds don’t always factor in the tightness of postseason hockey. They also can’t fully price in the Tortorella effect. Coach Torts whipped the Golden Knights to a 15-4-1 in the final 20 games of the year, and he’s been in the playoffs multiple times. He’ll have Vegas ready.
You also can’t count out a player who takes over a postseason run. Usually in the NHL playoffs, that means a hot goalie. But in Vegas’ case, it’s Mitch Marner. The Vegas forward has been a cheat code since the playoffs started. He leads the NHL in playoff scoring and seems to be gaining confidence with each outing.
Check out the latest odds at Lucky Rebel.
The puckline could be the play in this series where the ice will be tilted for Colorado, especially in the early games where both teams will be feeling each other out. The listed spread could be higher than what playoff hockey usually provides. Just look at the first two games of Colorado’s first-round series, where they only squeaked out consecutive 2-1 wins over the much lower-ranked Kings. Then add in the fact that Vegas covered twice in the three times the teams met during the 2025-56 NHL season.
Watch for select special teams bets during the series for another Vegas edge. The Golden Knights finished the season 7th on the PK, while it’s Colorado’s only weak spot. The Avs were 27th in the NHL in power-play percentage.
Outside of Marner and MacKinnon, who else do you lean on for player props and goal scoring? You need to uncover some depth scoring for the best payouts, especially since teams often lock down the top players on each side so they end up effectively cancelling each other out.
For the Avalanche, that means Martin Necas, Nazem Kadri, and Artturi Lehkonen. Necas is heating up after a cold first round, plus he bagged 6 points in 3 games during their head-to-head this season. Kadri is a veteran playoff performer, as is Lehkonen.
For Vegas, it’s Brett Howden who will benefit the most from all the attention the Avs put on the Marner line. He already has 8 goals during the playoffs and is only being used for +/- 16 minutes per game. Also, watch for Mark Stone’s injury status. Some rest between the Knights’ last game and Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals might put the sniper back in the game with some solid plus-money odds to score.
Montreal Canadiens vs Carolina Hurricanes
Underdogs in every series so far, the Canadiens are in a familiar spot as they head into the Eastern Conference Finals against the Hurricanes.
The series price for this one is identical to the Western series, with Carolina hovering around -285 to Montreal’s +230.
To NHL betting fans, these odds are less of a sure thing than the Avs-Golden Knights series though. Montreal has eliminated two strong teams, Tampa Bay and Buffalo, while Carolina has barely been tested. Playing Philly and Ottawa to consecutive series sweeps just isn’t the same as beating the Lightning and the Sabres.
How you feel about the Habs’ betting odds depends on your approach: glass half full or half empty? On one hand, they are battle-hardened and know what it takes to grind out a long, tough series. On the other hand, you have to wonder if they have any gas left in the tank after those two 7-game series.
Jakub Dobes, Montreal’s goalie, is turning out to be the type of netminder that can steal a series. If you think Montreal’s talent, with Lane Hutson, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield, can keep them close while Dobes shuts the door, that +230 is a steal.
On the other side of the ice, Frederik Andersen leads all NHL goalies in GAA this postseason.
Season-wise, Montreal dominated the Hurricanes and Andersen. They went 3-0-0, outscoring the ‘Canes 15-8 in the process.
Summing it up: sure Carolina has the season edge in total points and the playoff edge without a loss so far, plus 10+ days of rest compared to just 3 for the Canadiens. But all those extra considerations take away any bit of value in that -285.
For the opening game, look for Carolina’s rest to possibly turn into rust. They’ll be looking to find their playoff legs for the first 10-20 minutes, so look for any bets that favor the Habs in that stretch.
Player-wise, the anytime goal scorers for both teams are ripe for what should be a high-scoring series if you look at playing style over goaltending.
That means the value is in the depth players once again.
For Montreal, look for Zach Bolduc, Ivan Demidov and playoff hero Alex Newhook as they keep building confidence (and bagging goals) with every playoff game.
For Carolina, that means Andrei Svechnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers – two players low on the current stat sheet for scoring who should see more open ice as the Canadiens’ D keys on Sebastian Aho, Logan Stankhoven, and Taylor Hall.