With the 2022 NHL Playoffs starting next week, we take a look at the two favorites to win their respective conference playoffs and assess their chances of winning the Stanley Cup in our latest NHL futures betting preview.
The two favorites to win their respective conference playoffs are the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference and the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference.
But what chance does either side have of getting their hands on the big one, the Stanley Cup?
In the latest betting to win the 2022 Stanley Cup, the Colorado Avalanche is the favorite at +350. While the second favorite is the Florida Panthers at +500.
| Latest 2022 Stanley Cup Winner Odds |  |
|---|---|
| Colorado Avalanche | +350 |
| Florida Panthers | +500 |
| Calgary Flames | +900 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +1000 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1100 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +1200 |
| New York Rangers | +1200 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +1400 |
| Boston Bruins | +1600 |
| Minnesota Wild | +1800 |
| St. Louis Blues | +2000 |
As you can see below, these same two teams are also ahead in the betting when it comes to winning their respective conferences. So before we get onto their Stanley Cup chances, let’s take a look at their chances of landing their conference titles.
We’ll start first with the Stanley Cup winner betting favorites, the Colorado Avalanche. In the latest betting, the Avalanche are just +130 to win the Western Conference Playoff title.
The closest rivals to Jared Bednar’s Colorado team are the Calgary Flames at +325. The team third in the betting is the resurgent Edmonton Oilers at +750.
These odds are supplied by BetOnline. You can discover more from this top Vegas Sportsbook in our BetOnline Review.
Over in the Eastern Conference playoffs betting, the odds are closer. The Panthers aren’t as clear-cut favorites as the Avalanche are, with Andrew Brunette’s team at +250.
The second favorite is the Toronto Maple Leafs at +500, and then we see the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning both at +550. The New York Rangers are hot on their respective tails, with their odds set at +600.
Overall, the betting in the Eastern Conference looks tighter.
So out of the two conference betting favorites, who is the best value to win the 2022 Stanley Cup?
Let’s take a more detailed look at the two sides and see what value both offer going into the playoffs. Again, starting with the betting favorites to win the playoffs and Stanley Cup.
Of the two teams, the Colorado Avalanche has been the Stanley Cup betting favorite pretty much all season.
While the Panthers have been a slow burner, gradually shortening in odds across the course of the 2021/22 campaign, the Avalanche has been leading the way.
In the 2020/21 season, the Avalanche clinched the Presidents’ Trophy in what was a covid-19 reduced season. The Avalanche scored the joint-most points across all four divisions, but they were knocked out in the second round of a revamped playoffs by the Vegas Golden Knights.
In short, they underachieved!
This season they were installed as the early season favorites. After a slowish start to the season, they hit the afterburners in the post-Christmas period, surging not only to the top of the Central Division but well clear to clinch both the division and regular-season conference titles with plenty to spare.
After clinching the division and conference, their form has stuttered a bit. It is hard to judge whether this is something serious, or whether it is just a case of the team easing off and saving themselves for the playoffs.
The Avalanche has two Stanley Cup titles to their name. They first won in the 1995/96 season, and then again in the 2000/01 campaign.
In Nathan MacKinnon, they have one of the top centers in the NHL. MacKinnon knows how to win, and he will expect his team to produce the goods he knows they are capable off!
The Florida Panthers are a new club. Only formed in 1993, they’ve never won the Stanley Cup in their brief 29-year history.
The closest the franchise has come to get their hands on the title was in the 1995/96 season, where they were well and truly trounced by…. yes, you’ve guessed it, the Colorado Avalanche!
The Panthers started the season as one of a group of teams just outside of the original betting favorites. A decent season has seen them gradually become the team viewed as the main threat to the Avalanche, and they are now well out on their own as second-favorites with the top Vegas Sportsbooks.
Will their lack of previous titles hamper them in the playoffs though? This is where we have plenty of unanswered questions about the Panthers.
How many times have we seen a team storm through the division, only to get to the playoffs and run out of gas!
After the controversies that saw Andrew Brunette take over as interim coach, the team seemed to galvanize. This has served them well so far this season, and they have shown they have what it takes, by winning a very competitive Atlantic Division.
It would make for a fitting 2022 Stanley Cup final if the Panthers and the Avalanche were in the final.
If these two teams can make it, and I see no reason why they can’t, then I would be more in the camp of the Panthers. I feel they’ve been on a slow upwards trajectory, and the final may well turn out to be their Everest summit!
