They posted the best records in their respective conferences during the regular season. With one round now complete in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers continue to perform well in the betting market, too.
The Avalanche (+175) remain favored to win the Stanley Cup, with BetRivers reporting Monday that for championship futures, the Avalanche lead the way with both 18.1 percent of the total handle and 21.4 percent of the total tickets.
The Panthers (+385) were second in line, garnering 11.3 percent of the total money and 11.1 percent of the total tickets. But standing in the Panthers’ way are their in-state rivals, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning (+800) have earned the third-biggest share of the tickets (7.6 percent) and the fifth-largest share of the handle (5.8 percent).
The Panthers and Lightning will square off in one of four second-round Stanley Cup playoff series, beginning Tuesday. The Avalanche will face the St. Louis Blues, the Carolina Hurricanes will play the New York Rangers and the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames will renew the Battle of Alberta against a playoff backdrop.
At BetMGM, the Avalanche are the biggest favorites to win their first-round series at -350. The Panthers-Lightning series is the tightest of the four, with Florida the narrow favorite at (-145) and Tampa Bay sitting at +120.
The higher-seeded teams, of course, are favored to win their respective Game 1s at home. They are also apparently receiving most of the big action. Over at DraftKings, 93 percent of the handle is on the Panthers to win Game 1 against the spread (-1.5) even though they’re getting just 48 percent of the total bets. Similarly, the Flames were receiving 45 percent of the bets but 84 percent of the handle for their Game 1 Wednesday against the Oilers.
Colorado is also the favorite to win the Stanley Cup at BetMGM (+200) and DraftKings (+190) with Florida the second favorite at both books (+375 at BetMGM, +380 at DraftKings).
–Field Level Media