Starting Thursday, the NHL is on its All-Star break until next Monday, but it’s definitely not accurate to call it the halfway point of the season as every club in the league has played well more than 41 of their 82 regular-season games and some have played more than 50.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The storyline of the first half has been change behind the bench as seven head coaches already have been fired or let go for off-the-ice reasons. Two coaches fired, John Hynes by the New Jersey Devils and Peter DeBoer by the San Jose Sharks, already have new head coaching jobs. Hynes has been hired by the Nashville Predators and DeBoer by the Vegas Golden Knights. The Predators are +3500 to win their first Cup and Golden Knights +1800.
Remember, last season the St. Louis Blues were struggling mightily and fired their coach; it would eventually lead to the first Stanley Cup title in franchise history. The Blues are +900 to become the first team to repeat since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017. Before that, no team had repeated since the Detroit Red Wings in 2008.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were clear-cut Stanley Cup favorites entering the season after tying an NHL record with 62 regular-season wins in 2018-19 before historically crashing out in the first round of the playoffs. The Lightning seemed to have a bit of a hangover the first six weeks or so of this season but are now playing to expectations and are +800 co-favorites to win the second Cup in franchise history.
The Lightning, though, still trail the Boston Bruins (+900) for the Atlantic Division title. The Washington Capitals lead the Metropolitan Division and are +800 to win the Stanley Cup for the second time in three years.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are chasing the Capitals in the Metro, and the fact the Penguins have so many points is impressive considering they lost superstar Sidney Crosby for 28 games due to core muscle surgery. Crosby returned last week and the Pens could be ready to take off. They are +900 to win the Stanley Cup.
No team from Canada has hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who were one of the clubs to have fired their head coach already, have the shortest odds of teams from the birthplace of hockey at +1500.
