Maple Leafs now betting favourites to win the Stanley Cup

Connor Brown scored for the Maple Leafs and Frederik Andersen stopped all 30 shots he faced to get a 2-0 win over the Capitals.

The Toronto Maple Leafs opened at a modest +1500 (wager $100 to win $1500) on the odds to win the Stanley Cup this season. However, with just one loss through their first six games of the year Auston Matthews and Co. now find themselves as the surprising leaders on those NHL futures at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

The Maple Leafs won three games in a row to start the season, putting up 19 goals in victories over the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks. Toronto then dropped a 6-3 decision to the New Jersey Devils last Wednesday night, but ended a long losing skid against the rival Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night and blanked the Washington Capitals 2-0 on Tuesday night.

So heading into their home date with the Detroit Red Wings as -170 betting favourites (wager $170 to win $100) on Wednesday night the Maple Leafs are now sitting tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning as the +900 favourites on the odds to win the 2017/18 Stanley Cup. Tampa Bay and Toronto enter the day’s action separated by one point in the Atlantic Division standings.

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Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers had been tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins at +800 atop the Stanley Cup odds two weeks ago, but the Penguins have slid back to +1100 while the Oilers have dropped to +1200 on those betting futures.

Edmonton shut out the rival Calgary Flames 3-0 in their opening game of the season, with McDavid recording a hat trick. Since then, though, the Oilers are winless in four games against the Canucks, Jets, Senators, and Hurricanes, giving up 19 goals in those four contests. And McDavid has managed to pick up just three assists over his last four outings.

As for the other five Canadian teams, the Flames sit at +2200 on the updated Stanley Cup odds, with the Canadiens and Senators both at +2800, the Jets at +5000, and the Canucks at +10000. The Arizona Coyotes, the last winless team in the NHL, are last on the list at +20000.

And the expansion Vegas Golden Knights have actually seen their Stanley Cup odds get cut significantly over the past two weeks thanks to a strong 5-1-0 start to the season. The Golden Knights were as far back as +20000 on those futures, but are now at +3300 to claim the Cup.

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