Who will hoist the very unique Stanley Cup in summer 2020

The NHL announced their plans to continue the season 2019/2020 after a break of almost three months. The playoffs are meant to be run through faster than usual, but starting with 24 teams. The best eight teams will make it straight to the “actual” playoffs, although only after playing a round-robin tournament to determine the seeds, while the remaining 16 teams start with a 1^st round knockout games in the best of five series. When the playoffs start you can get NHL picks here or from our friends at BetQL.

Despite the unusual situation, the NHL odds to win the Stanley Cup remain the same, and the favorites are still the favorites! The Eastern Conference powerhouses Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins lead the way with odds of +650 and +700. From the West, Vegas Golden Knights have taken the top spot according to the Vegas oddsmakers with odds of +800, followed closely by Colorado Avalanche and Eastern conference Washington Capitals at +900. Philadelphia Flyers is the other Eastern team making it straight to through the first round, with winning odds of +1000. In the West, the top four is completed by reigning Champions St. Louis Blues at winning odds of +1000 and Dallas Stars with +1400.

Leading the challengers, who will have that one extra playoff-series to play, are Pittsburgh Penguins (+1700) and Edmonton Oilers (+2300). The Penguins will face Montreal Canadiens in the first round, while Edmonton will take on Chicago Blackhawks. The uncertainty of the playoffs is still making it hard to predict the outcomes, but it is safe to say that the competition is closer than ever. It’s impossible to know beforehand how the break has affected the teams and what will the lineups look like, but comparison to Accuscore’s pre-season predictions might point out where the value for the Stanley Cup winner lies.

In Accuscore’s pre-season predictions, Toronto Maple Leafs and Nashville Predators were supposed to take their conferences by storm. This definitely was not the case – at least not before the pause/break in March. But things might have changed during the break, it’s a fresh start for both underachievers and the teams are not THAT bad, are they? With these odds, Toronto and Nashville might prove to be fine choices for that long-shot-bet for the Stanley Cup! You can get free money to bet on who will win the Stanley Cup by taking a look at these sportsbook bonuses from books in your state.