Avs Open Playoffs As Cup Favorites Amid Tepid Action On Florida Teams

Colorado tied for seventh in the NHL with 102 points throughout the regular season, but the Avalanche are opening the playoffs as the agreement favorites to win the 2025 Stanley Cup.


On the eve of playing host to Game 1 of a first-round series against the Dallas Stars-- who ended up with 106 points during the routine season-- Colorado was being offered as the +750 Cup favorite by and at +700 by BetMGM.


It assists that the Stars will be minus leading goal-scorer Jason Robertson due to a lower-body injury sustained in the group's regular-season finale. Dallas has actually already been playing without top defenseman Miro Heiskanen (knee) and hops into the playoffs 0-5-2 in its past seven video games.


By contrast, after retooling the roster throughout the season, Colorado has actually been gaining momentum considering that mid-February. That has resulted in the Avalanche being backed by the most total wagers (10.6 percent) and cash (11.0) to win the Cup given that opening at +1000 at BetMGM.


However, Colorado is not among the book's three most significant Cup liabilities.


The top honor in that regard would go to St. Louis, followed by Montreal and Dallas. With the Blues (+4000) and Canadiens (+8000) the 2 biggest longshots remaining, BetMGM is more worried about the Avalanche.


It's the two Florida groups the book is pulling for presently. The defending champion Panthers have drawn a modest 6.3 percent of the cash at +750 presently, while the Tampa Bay Lightning have actually been backed by simply 2.8 percent of the cash while moving from +2000 to +1100.


Tampa Bay finished connected with Colorado with 102 points throughout the regular season, while Florida was 11th with 98 points.


"The Panthers and Lightning are amongst the favorites to win the Stanley Cup however the public is overlooking them," BetMGM senior trader Matthew Rasp said. "BetMGM really wants the Stanley Cup to remain in Florida."


Winnipeg, which topped the league with 116 points while winning an NHL-best 56 video games, opens the postseason at +1000 at both BetMGM and DraftKings-- the eighth-shortest Cup chances and tied for the sixth-shortest odds at the latter.