After capturing their first divisional crown since 2006 and the top seed in the Western Conference, the Calgary Flames will open their first-round playoff series with the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday as -190 Game 1 favourites on the NHL betting lines at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Calgary is coming off its best regular-season performance since its last Stanley Cup victory in 1989, racking up 50 wins and 107 points, and sits second to the Tampa Bay Lightning as a strong +800 wager on the Stanley Cup odds. However, the team has endured a letdown since clinching the top seed last week, suffering losses in two outings ahead of Thursday night’s game at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Flames have dominated the Avalanche in recent years, posting wins in eight of nine meetings since March 2016, and sit as heavy -200 favourites on the NHL playoff series odds.
Elsewhere, the Winnipeg Jets look to snap a shaky 3-5-1 run to close out their schedule as they take on the red-hot St. Louis Blues on Wednesday in Game 1 of their Central Division playoff matchup as slim -120 home favourites on the NHL odds.
Winnipeg, though, is pegged as a +100 underdog on the series prices against a Blues team that has won nine of 12, a run that has helped lift them to a +1200 bet on the Stanley Cup odds. However, the Jets have dominated in head-to-head meetings with the Blues, winning 11 of 14 since December 2015.
Over in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Maple Leafs prepare to face the Boston Bruins in the first round for a second straight year, pegged as +140 underdogs on the NHL series prices. The Maple Leafs meekly closed out their schedule with losses in five of their final six contests, and also dropped three of four to the Bruins this season.
Considered a Stanley Cup favourite at sports betting sites at the outset of the season, Toronto has steadily lost ground on the NHL futures, and enters the playoffs as a distant +2000 bet.
Elsewhere on the NHL playoff odds, the Lightning open their first-round clash with Columbus as heavy -400 chalk on the series prices and remain perched as short +250 favourites to win their first Stanley Cup since 2004.
The defending champion Washington Capitals battle the Carolina Hurricanes as -155 series favourites, and the Pittsburgh Penguins clash with the New York Islanders as -145 series chalk. The Nashville Predators take on the Dallas Stars as -180 favourites in their first-round set, while the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks meet in a series pegged as a virtual pick’em at sportsbooks.
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