The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs have reached fever pitch as the conference semifinals near their conclusions and the next round begins to loom. In the first round of the postseason, we witnessed minimal upsets, with all three wildcards falling at the first hurdle. Now, all four divisional winners look set to join them on the sidelines as the Washington Capitals, Vegas Golden Knights, and the President's Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets all trail in their respective series by three games to one.
The final divisional top seed is the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Canadian outfit is doing everything in its power to end a 58-year wait to appear in its 22nd Stanley Cup Finals. However, they find themselves opposite the reigning champion Florida Panthers, and with their series locked at two games apiece, it's the stacked roster of the Cats that the bookies make the favorites to progress. But which teams do those same betting providers make the frontrunners to win the championship outright?
Let's find out.
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars capped off an impressive regular season with a 50-26-6 record, good for 106 points. That total was the fourth highest in the entire league, but despite the fact that teams amassed a bigger haul than the Lone Star state outfit, it's they who the betting odds providers price as the favorites to win the championship. The latest NHL betting odds currently make the Stars a narrow +260 frontrunner, marginally ahead of the rest of the pack.
They had to dig deep in their dramatic seven-game triumph over the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. Each game was a battle, yet Dallas managed to pull off some crucial wins thanks to standout performances from superstars Mikko Rantanen and Mikael Granlund. They have carried that momentum into the second round against the record-breaking Winnipeg Jets and have built up a 3-1 series lead, with Granlund’s blistering hat trick in Game 4 putting his side on the brink of a third straight trip to the Conference Finals.
Mikko Rantanen had 3 points, including his 9th goal of the playoffs to give the Stars a 2-1 series lead! 🔥
— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) May 11, 2025
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The Stars will be hoping that this year's visit ends differently from their past two. In each of their last two campaigns, Dallas has fallen agonizingly short of a first Stanley Cup finals appearance in a quarter of a century. Last year, they were downed by the Oilers, and the year before, it was the eventual champion Golden Knights. They will be hoping that the third time's the charm in 2025.
Edmonton Oilers
Few teams in the league have the star power to rival the Edmonton Oilers. The mercurial duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl saw the Canadian side become the favorites to win the Stanley Cup last season, and they duly powered the team to the finals. Unfortunately, however, that would result in heartbreak at the hands of the Florida Panthers, despite overturning a 3-0 series deficit to level things up at 3-3 before ultimately losing in seven.
This season, expectations were lowered somewhat, and it seemed as though that was the correct decision after Edmonton labored into the playoffs with a modest 48-29-5 record. McDavid delivered a jaw-dropping performance as always, leading the league in both assists and points. Meanwhile, the Robin to his Batman Draisaitl lit the lamp some 52 times.
But as the best teams always seem to do, the Oilers have found form at the perfect time. They managed to dispatch the Kings in six in the opening round, and now they find themselves 3-1 up against the Golden Knights. That has prompted the bookies to slash odds on Edmonton lifting the trophy down to +310, and their 35-year wait for the Stanley Cup could well be set to come to an end.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes had a similarly mediocre regular season record, winning 47 games, which is by no means shoddy, but certainly didn't set the world alight. However, in the postseason, they have come alive. Their suffocating defense, structured under coach Rod Brind’Amour and built on the back of the brick wall-like goaltending of Frederik Andersen, has seen the Canes come through a gruelling schedule unscathed.
Captain Jordan Staal has continued to lead by example by defending from the front, and the approach has paid dividends. The Raleigh-based side have managed to contain the free-flowing Washington Capitals to just five goals in four games in their ongoing conference semifinal, an achievement made all the more impressive considering the fact that the capital city outfit boast the NHL's all-time leading goalscorer Alex Ovechkin in their lineup.
While the Hurricanes' ruthless defense wasn't as on display in their first-round clash against the Devils, Sebastian Aho managed to provide a much-needed attacking outlet. He has led the way with three goals and six assists through their playoff campaign so far, and a second straight 4-1 series victory could well be on the cards.
Their performances have seen the bookies slash odds on the Hurricanes claiming a second-ever championship and first in 19 years right down to +325. As the saying goes, defense wins championships, and it remains to be seen whether that will be the case for Carolina as well.