Stanley Cup Playoffs: 2021 Series Prices and Opening Round Forecast

You would almost have to compliment NHL headquarters on a job well-done this spring.

Almost.

We’re here, after all, not mourning a cancelled season, and the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs are underway. Unlike what this blogger and others had feared, the NHL did not attempt to use the late spring and/or summer to “catch up” to its originally scheduled tally of events in 2020 and 2021, aka an 80-game marathon at warp-speed that laid waste to what little offseason time NHL players have. 50 games feels about right. It’s reminiscent of the vintage National Hockey League calendar, and COVID-19 hasn’t stopped fans from beginning to trickle back into ice hockey venues in the USA.

But to say there are “hiccups” at the tail end of the 2021 NHL campaign would have a Last Action Hero vibe. The league’s failure to fend off COVID-19 outbreaks at North Division clubs in pandemic-plagued Canada has given rise to a number of problems and issues, starting with the sad series taking place between Vancouver and Calgary as we speak.

Adhering to a “make up” schedule of previously postponed games that extends into the Stanley Cup playoff calendar, the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks – long-gone eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoff race – will meet for 3 miserable, meaningless faceoffs (including an absurd redeye flight for the Canucks to play a back-to-back closer in Calgary) which end on May 19th, once every other division has begun play in the opening playoff round.

The NHL has every reason to cancel the pointless “series,” assuming COVID-19 safety was really the top priority. It’s trite to say “money” is the top priority, since the Vancouver vs Calgary games will generate a fraction of the interest drawn by the 2021 Stanley Cup tournament. The clubs will hopefully treat the games like preseason film sessions, nothing more, and one pities the partisan fans who’ll subject themselves to watching the outcomes live in lieu of following the playoffs.

Also, thanks to the unprecedented “staggering” of faceoffs in the opening round, the ice hockey blog has to combine 2 separate genres of blog posts (you bass-tads!) and include a prediction on Game 1 between the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins, since the puck is dropping so quickly after press-time that game odds are all anyone would care about now. Then we can bear down on the task of handicapping “wild 7s” – 7 upcoming 7-game series with dates, “series prices” on teams to advance and recommended bets.

One bright spot is that we don’t need to factor home-ice advantage into the playoffs so much this season, unless teams A) prove to be 15 other versions of the Minnesota Wild and turn the comfort and lax COVID-19 restrictions of home into a real weapon, or B) travel poorly and fold on the road. Restricted crowds aren’t loud enough to disrupt opposing blue-line calls, gap control, or puck movement, and the only ear-piercing roar when Tom Wilson leans into a body-check will be from a drunk guy who’s happy to have gotten 1 of 6 restricted luxury-box tickets and an open bar. Lots of NHL teams fared well at home this season, but their visiting rivals were taking notes on how to prepare for a 1-shot-only business trip in a pandemic. Players are going to buckle-up and fly straight for all upcoming NHL away-trips…with exception of the stupid trip the Flames and Canucks are on. The scenario leaves speculators free to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each side regardless of playoff seed, miles traveled, or voodoo-hex fanfare.

Unless they play in the NHL West Division, of course, in which a “wildly” talented quartet of semifinal seeds are pushing each other’s Stanley Cup futures odds longer, and in which lurks the Wild, who’ve been losing at home as often as I post short introductions on WagerBop.

Scroll down for NHL series prices and predictions for the 2021 division semifinals, or find our update on Capitals-Bruins Game 1 betting odds immediately below.

Game 1 Odds and Prediction: Washington Capitals vs Boston Bruins

It’s no surprise that the Washington Capitals had another excellent regular season. Washington has finished 1st or 2nd in its division since the 2013-14 campaign, and has developed a stable of stars to complement Red Machine sniper Alex Ovechkin. Blue-liner John Carlson is 5th in scoring among NHL defensemen, and the Capitals are as strong up the middle as any club in the league with Nicklas Bäckström, Yevgeni Kuznetsov, Lars Eller, and Nic Dowd manning the center position. So why have the Boston Bruins been favored to win a division semifinal series against the Caps?

2019’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals has gamblers optimistic about the Spokes, not to mention Brad Marchand’s 69 points in 53 games, but don’t overlook Boston’s 4-2 record vs Washington in games decided in regulation time.

To say “the playoffs change everything” is cliché. But the Capitals are the strongest of plus-odds teams in the opening playoff round, and a very solid pick at (+125) or (+0.5) for Game 1 at Capital One Arena.

Stanley Cup Playoffs 2021: Division Semifinal Series Price Odds and Predictions

NHL East Division Semifinals: Pittsburgh Penguins (-156) vs New York Islanders (+128)

Games Scheduled: May 16 through May 28 (if necessary)

Sid “the Kid” Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins made a real run at a President’s Cup in spring 2021, but the team’s regular-season momentum has failed to move NHL handicappers, with the Pens prompting Stanley Cup odds of only 13-to-1, or $13 for every $1 wagered.

That doesn’t change the fact that the Penguins have looked far better than the Islanders have over the past 2 months. New York started the season contending for an East Division title but fell flat on the attack late in the season, scoring 4+ goals just twice in a 16-game span and falling down the ledger.

Recommended Bet: Pittsburgh Penguins (3 unit wager)

NHL Central Division Semifinals: Carolina Hurricanes (-245) vs Nashville Predators (+200)

Games Scheduled: May 17 through May 29 (if necessary)

The Nashville Predators had to stave-off a late charge from the Dallas Stars to reach the Central Division semifinals, and responded by playing their best hockey in late April and May. Nashville won 7 of its last 10 games, defeated Dallas 1-0 in a crucial OT battle, and whipped Carolina in 2 straight meetings at Bridgestone Arena. Bookmakers are convinced that the season-capping series outcome is a mirage, though, with only a handful of Nashville playmakers to challenge Carolina netminder Alex Nedeljvkovic.

Recommended Bet: None 

NHL Central Division Semifinals: Tampa Bay Lightning (-146) vs Florida Panthers (+120)

Games Scheduled: May 16 through May 28 (if necessary)

The defending Stanley Cup champions’ drawn betting action to repeat in 2021 has cooled to 7-to-1 as the Lightning’s dominant early-season form faded in spring. However, considering that the Tampa Bay Lightning lost their final 3 games by blow-out scores, it’s likely that Tampa Bay has simply been biding its time prior to the playoffs. Brayden Point leads the Lightning with 48 points in 56 games, but previous Tampa Bay scoring leader Nikita Kucherov is expected to return from injury to bolster the Bolts in the playoffs. On the other side, few NHL clubs finished the 2020-21 season nearly as sizzling-hot as the Florida Panthers, who won their final half-dozen games of the campaign. Florida forward Aleksander Barkov is 9th in the NHL with 26 goals.

Recommended Bet: Florida Panthers (1 unit wager)

NHL North Division Semifinals: Toronto Maple Leafs (-290) vs Montreal Canadiens (+245)

Games Scheduled: May 20 through May 31 (if necessary)

Toronto is still garnering an optimistic Stanley Cup futures line despite no Canadian NHL team having won the hardware in nearly 30 years. Goaltender Jack Campbell has arrived as a brick-wall starter late in the season, threatening to displace long-time Toronto mainstay Frederik Andersen. Austin Matthews, the NHL’s goal-scoring leader, has lapped the rest of the Maple Leaf roster in production. Montreal winger Tyler Toffoli has scored 28 goals on the season, and the Canadiens endured a push from the Calgary Flames in a race for the final North Division playoff seed. However, bookmakers are not giving the Habs much of a shot at 2.5-to-1.

Recommended Bet: Montreal Canadiens (1 unit wager)

NHL North Division Semifinals: Edmonton Oilers (-184) vs Winnipeg Jets (+150)

Games Scheduled: May 19 through May 30 (if necessary)

Edmonton superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl finished 1-2 in the National Hockey League with 104 and 83 points respectively, reviving the memory of Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri’s glory years in Alberta’s capital. Only 2 other Edmonton Oiler forwards scored double-digit goals in 56 games, raising questions about the club’s depth and helping to cast Winnipeg as a 1.5-to-1 underdog.

The Winnipeg Jets won only 2 of their final 10 games of the season and have lost to the Oilers 5 times in a row.

Recommended Bet: Edmonton Oilers (2 unit wager)

NHL West Division Semifinals: Vegas Golden Knights (-230) vs Minnesota Wild (+182)

Games Scheduled: May 16 through May 28 (if necessary)

Behind the optimistic odds on Vegas to win a title is a prevailing notion that if a starting VGK netminder goes down, the backup goalie could stand tall against any opposing club in a playoff setting. Unlike many of the NHL’s “old lion” and “young lion” goaltending duos, the 36-year-old Fleury still plays to the highest ceiling, capable of great performances in the vein of Grant Fuhr or Dominik Hasek.

While Lehner isn’t the type of goalie who could shut-out Team Canada at the peak of its powers, he is fundamentally sound and cool under pressure, and provides a handy option for DeBoer in the Stanley Cup tournament. Whoever is in goal for Las Vegas will have their work cut-out in the division semifinals, as the Kirill Kaprizov ROTY show is coming to town. The Russian sniper has advanced in the NHL ranks a lot faster than Red Machine teammate Nikita Gusev.

Minnesota’s superb form on home ice alone makes the Wild a no-brainer pick in the West Division series.

Recommended Bet: Minnesota Wild (1 unit bet)

NHL West Division Semifinals: Colorado Avalanche (-380) vs St. Louis Blues (+290)

Games Scheduled: May 17 through May 29 (if necessary)

The standings took 56 games to shake out, but Colorado’s 5-1 victory over the L.A. Kings on Thursday night finally sealed the deal. The top seed goes to the Colorado Avalanche, already installed as strong favorites to whip the St. Louis Blues at 1-to-4 series-price odds. The Vegas Golden Knights were beaten-out for 1st place by the Avalanche, but Sin City has a way of not taking things personally. Colorado forward Mikko Rantonen is as dynamic a skater as the NHL has to offer, a 6’4″ sniper with the ability to pass tape-to-tape and make devilish defensive plays. 3 lines full of Avs have posted double-digit goals in ’20-21, a tremendous feat in a shortened hockey season. But we’ve seen high-powered clubs fall flat in the NHL playoffs again and again, notably in 2019 when the Tampa Bay Lightning were swept by Columbus in the opening Stanley Cup round. Head coach Craig Berube’s Blues were crowned champions later in the same postseason.

Recommended Bet: St. Louis Blues (1 unit wager)