Bruins sit atop of Stanley Cup odds, while Flyers remain a long shot

When we last checked in on NHL Stanley Cup odds, the Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins were neck and neck at the top.

At the time, Boston had a league-best 23-4-1 record, while the defending champion Avs were only a few games north of .500.

Two months later, the Bruins continue to own the NHL’s best record — by a mile — and Colorado is barely clinging to a playoff spot.

Yet while Boston now stands alone atop the Stanley Cup odds board, the Avs still aren’t far behind.

Broadening the view to the entire 32-team league, there’s been some notable movement in the NHL futures market — several clubs climbing up, several sliding down. However, none of that movement would register on the Richter scale.

With less than two months remaining in the regular season, here’s an updated look at NHL Stanley Cup odds and betting action.

Odds updated as of 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 15.

Just how dominant have the Bruins been this season? Consider these facts:

And that’s how you become the clear-cut favorite to win your first Stanley Cup in a dozen years — and just the second since 1972.

The one thing potentially working against the Bruins? Being dominant in the regular season is not a surefire path to a championship.

In fact, only two teams in the last two decades — the 2003-04 Detroit Red Wings and 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks — have won both the Presidents’ Trophy (most regular-season points) and Stanley Cup in the same season.

Also, Boston has leveled off a bit lately. After going 10-1 from Jan. 2-Jan. 24, the Bruins have dropped four of their last six (including one overtime defeat).

So who’s been the hottest team on the ice as of late? That would be the Carolina Hurricanes, who are 10-1-1 in their last 12 outings. The only blemish: Saturday’s 6-2 loss at the Rangers.

NHL futures bettors have certainly taken notice of the Canes. In the past two months, Carolina has moved from the +1400 seventh position to the +650 second spot at BetMGM.

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It’s been a rough regular season for the Avalanche, mostly because the champs have been hit hard by the injury bug.

Superstar center Nathan McKinnon missed 11 games in December with an injury, while top defenseman Cale Makar (head) is currently sidelined.

Meanwhile, left wing Gabriel Landeskog — who had 30 goals and 29 assists in 2021-22 — hasn’t played a minute this season after having knee surgery.

The good news for the Avs (and the many bettors who have backed Colorado in the NHL Stanley Cup futures market)? Makar is due back before the end of this month, and Landeskog is expected to hit the ice by mid-March.

So the fact that the Avs only have 61 points and are currently holding a Western Conference playoff berth by virtue of a tiebreaker over Minnesota and Calgary shouldn’t be terribly concerning.

Assuming it gets back to full strength, Colorado should safely qualify for the NHL’s 16-team tournament — and once there, a healthy Avs squad would be extremely dangerous.

That’s one reason why the Avs join Boston and Carolina as the only teams that currently sport single-digit Stanley Cup odds. (We’ll get to another big reason shortly.)

Behind the top three favorites, a cluster of seven clubs have title odds ranging from +1000 to +1700.

Of that group, the New York Rangers have made the biggest move up the odds board.

New York, which made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, had odds as high as +2500 at FanDuel back in mid-December.

Now, the Rangers are tied with Tampa Bay in the fourth spot at Caesars Sportsbook (+1000); tied with four teams in the sixth spot at BetMGM (+1400); and tied with five teams in the fifth spot at FanDuel (+1500).

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Edmonton, which lost to Colorado in the Western Conference finals last year, also has seen its championship odds improve. The Oilers have shrunk from +2000 to as low as +1200 at Caesars (tied with Toronto and Dallas for sixth).

Then there’s the Seattle Kraken. The second-year franchise opened at 125-to-1 (+125000) to win the Stanley Cup at BetMGM.

Now the Kraken — who entered Wednesday with the fifth-most points in the West — have Stanley Cup odds ranging from +2500 (Caesars) to +3300 (BetMGM).

On the flip side, several clubs have seen their Stanley Cup odds rise significantly in the last two months. These include:

Now to that “other” reason why the struggling and banged-up Avalanche are still among the favorites to successfully defend their title: Sportsbooks are saddled with a ton of liability on Colorado.

BetMGM on Wednesday released its latest numbers on NHL futures action, and the Avs continue to lead the way in both bets made (14.9%) and dollars wagered (18.5%).

Boston is sitting second in both categories (12.8% tickets; 13.3% handle), while the Toronto Maple Leafs are third in wagers (7.6%) and the Rangers are third in cash (11.1%).

What about the Philadelphia Flyers? They’re currently game under .500 (22-23-10) and eight points out of the second and final Eastern Conference wild card spots.

More daunting, Philadelphia would have to climb over six teams to snag that last wild card berth.

So it’s no surprise to see the Flyers at or very near the bottom of the NHL Stanley Cup odds board (500-to-1 at BetMGM and FanDuel; 1000-to-1 at Caesars).

In other words, Philly fans shouldn’t hold out hope of the Flyers making a Phillies- or Eagles-like run to a title.

On the bright side, the 76ers just might ...

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The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.