The Colorado Avalanche were the biggest favorite to win their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series in odds set by sports book DraftKings on Saturday.
DraftKings set the moneyline at -360 for the Avalanche, who will host the 2019 champion St. Louis Blues (+270) in the series opener on Monday. Colorado finished as the No. 1 team in NHL in the regular season by virtue of a tiebreaker with the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas (-240), the second-place finisher in the West Division were a narrower favorite over the Minnesota Wild (+190) for their series, which opens Sunday in Las Vegas.
In the North Division, the Toronto Maple Leafs (-315) were picked to beat the Montreal Canadiens (+240). As of Friday, bettors overwhelmingly favored the Leafs, 96 percent of the handle and 93 percent of bets on Toronto They also favored the Edmonton Oilers (-186), with 80 percent of bettors wagering on the Oilers to eliminate the Winnipeg Jets (+150) in the first round, representing 94 percent of the handle.
Toronto and Montreal open their series on Thursday, a day after Edmonton and Winnipeg.
DraftKings gave the nod to the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning (-152) to knock out the Florida Panthers (+123) in the Central Division, but 56 percent of the early handle went to the Panthers. The Carolina Hurricanes (-250) were the biggest favorite in the division, with 87 percent of bettors wagering they’d defeat the Nashville Predators (+196).
Florida hosts Tampa Bay to open the series on Sunday, and Nashville will meet Carolina on Monday in Raleigh.
In the East Division, the Pittsburgh Penguins (-136) were listed as favorites ahead of their series against the New York Islanders (+110), which opens Sunday. The first-round action between the Boston Bruins (-162) and Washington Capitals (+130) opens the playoffs on Saturday.
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
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