With the NHL set to return to the ice in less than two weeks, it remains a tight two-way race atop the odds to win the Eastern Conference championship with the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning deadlocked as +300 co-favourites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Bruins and Lightning sat among the top three teams in the NHL when the league suspended play back in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic; Boston topped the NHL standings with 100 points, eight points up on Tampa Bay. However, it is the Lightning that lead the way as +550 favourites on the odds to win the Stanley Cup as Eastern Conference clubs get set to resume play on Aug. 1 at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
As the top two teams in the East, the Bruins and Lightning have earned the right to compete for top seeding in the conference when play resumes, joining the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals in a four-team round robin. The Capitals and Flyers closely trail the favourites on the Eastern Conference championship odds, knotted at +600.
The Capitals led the Metropolitan Division standings when the league shut down, one point up on Philadelphia. However, the Flyers entered the pause as one of the hottest teams in the NHL, posting wins in nine of their final 10 regular season contests and in each of their final seven home dates.
Further down the Eastern Conference championship odds at online betting sites, the Pittsburgh Penguins sport +700 odds as they prepare for their best-of-five play-in series with the Montreal Canadiens, while the Toronto Maple Leafs round out the front of the pack as a +1000 wager.
The Maple Leafs will enjoy playing in the familiar surroundings of their home arena next month. The team was hampered by injuries throughout the season, but is set to begin its play-in series against the Columbus Blue Jackets at full health.
Perched on the playoff bubble when the league suspended play, the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers sit off the pace at +2200 odds to win the East as they prepare to square off in best-of-five action. As well, both the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers are enjoying a new lease on life after closing out the abbreviated regular season outside the playoff picture. The Metropolitan Division rivals are set to clash in a play-in series, and join the Blue Jackets at +3300 on the futures.
And the Canadiens have a lot of work to do to atone for a dismal regular season in which they endured a pair of eight-game losing streaks, and finished on a 4-8-2 run. Not surprisingly, Montreal lags as a lengthy +4000 longshot to claim a berth in this year’s Stanley Cup Final.
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