The 2021/2022 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs face off this Monday, May 2nd with the defending champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, looking to win their third title in a row.
The 16 playoff teams will be battling it out for league supremacy with the finals scheduled to conclude by June 30th at the latest.
The Florida Panthers enter the postseason as the top regular-season club with a record of 58-18-6 for 122 points. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins made the playoffs for the 16th-consecutive season, which is currently the longest active postseason streak in North America’s four major sports (hockey, baseball, football and basketball).
In addition, three of last season’s semifinalists, the Vegas Golden Knights, Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders failed to make the playoffs this season and this is the first time ever that all eight teams from a conference (the East) qualified for the postseason by notching at least 100 points during the regular campaign.
The top three teams in each NHL division qualified for the playoffs along with two wild-card squads from each conference, giving the East and West Conferences eight postseason teams each. The team with the most regular-season points will have home-ice advantage in each of the best-of-seven series with the Stanley Cup champions being crowned by winning all four of their showdowns. This means the highest-seeded teams will play at home in games, one, two, five and seven of each series if necessary.
The Eastern Conference matchups for the first round are:
A-Florida Panthers (122 points) vs Washington Capitals (100 points)
This is the first postseason clash between the clubs with Florida winning the regular-season series 2-1.
B-Toronto Maple Leafs (115 points) vs Tampa Bay Lightning (110 points)
This is the first playoff meeting between the teams and the regular-season series ended 2-2.
C-Carolina Hurricanes (116 points) vs Boston Bruins (107 points)
These teams have met six times before in the playoffs Boston taking five of the previous six series. The Hurricanes won all three of the regular-season meetings this season.
D-NY Rangers (110 points) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (103 points)
This is the eighth postseason encounter between the clubs with Pittsburgh winning five of the previous seven series. New York won this year’s regular-season series 3-1.
The Western Conference series are:
A-Colorado Avalanche (119 points) vs Nashville Predators (97 points)
These sides have clashed once before in the postseason with Nashville winning the series in six games. Nashville also won this year’s season series 3-1.
B- Minnesota Wild (113 points) vs St. Louis Blues (109 points)
This is the third playoff battle between the clubs with each team winning and losing once in the previous two. St. Louis won all three of this year’s regular-season contests.
C-Calgary Flames (111 points) vs Dallas Stars (98 points)
The teams have met twice before in the playoffs with Dallas winning both times. Calgary took two of three games during the 2021/22 regular-season series.
D-Edmonton Oilers (104 points) vs Los Angeles Kings (99 points)
This is the eighth postseason outing between the clubs with Edmonton triumphing in five of the previous seven meetings. Edmonton also took three of four games in the regular-season series.
As far as Stanley Cup wins go for this season’s 16 playoff teams; the Toronto Maple Leafs lead the way with 13 championships while losing 8 finals. However, they haven’t won the cup or even reached the final series since 1967. The Boston Bruins have won 6 finals but have lost 14. The New York Rangers are 4-7 in 11 Stanley Cup final series while the Edmonton Oilers are 5-2.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are 5-1. The Dallas Stars are 1-4. The Tampa Bay Lightning are 3-1. The St. Louis Blues are 1-3 while the Los Angeles Kings are 2-1 with the Calgary Flames at 1-2. The Colorado Avalanche are 2-0 with the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals both at 1-1. The Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators are both seeking their first Stanley Cup wins as they’re 0-1 in the final series while the Minnesota Wild has never made it to a final.
The oddsmakers at bet365 currently list Colorado as the favorites to hoist the cup this season at +400 followed by Florida at +425, Calgary at +750, Carolina and Toronto both at +1000, Tampa at +1100, Boston and Minnesota each at +1600, the New York Rangers at +1700, St. Louis and Edmonton at +1800, Pittsburgh at +2000, Los Angeles at +2800, Dallas and Washington at +4000 and Nashville as the longest shots at +4500.
Don’t forget you can also make wagers on each individual playoff game including live betting. There are also several other bets available such as series winner, conference winner, total games and goals etc.