by Will Rogers
Wednesday, Jan 24, 2024Now that we're nearly 50 games into the NHL season, it's time for me to check back in. The Edmonton Oilers are perhaps the biggest story. They've done nothing but win since my last article. After 20 games, the Oilers weren't even among the top 10 on the NHL Futures market. They're now favored to win the Stanley Cup! The Winnipeg Jets are another hot team which has become one of the favorites to hoist the Cup. I've got the updated future odds below, along with some other relevant stats.
Top 10 Teams To Win The Cup
Edmonton Oilers +624
Colorado Avalanche +832
Boston Bruins +907
Carolina Hurricanes +1066
Florida Panthers +1097
New York Rangers +1167
Winnipeg Jets +1214
Dallas Stars +1231
Vancouver +1286
Vegas Golden Knights +1371
Just as one should know how teams are doing in the standings, it's important to understand how they're faring at the betting window. Four of this season's most profitable teams are barely above .500. On the other side of the coin, some of the least profitable teams in the league have winning records. Below are the top 10 most and least profitable teams, entering play on January 24th.
TOP 10 MOST PROFITABLE TEAMS
Vancouver: 32-15 +$1078
Detroit: 24-23 +$781
St. Louis: 23-22 +$714
Winnipeg 30-15 +$578
Arizona: 23-22 +$516
Philadelphia 25-23 +$386
Colorado: 30-17 +$342
NY Rangers 2918 +$306
Boston: 29-17 +$281
Florida: 28-18 +$239
TOP 10 LEAST PROFITABLE TEAMS
San Jose: 13-35 -$882
Toronto: 23-22 -$771
NY Islanders: 20-27 -$770
Minnesota: 21-26 -$756
Columbus: 14-32 -$686
Ottawa: 18-25 -$613
Calgary: 21-26 -$548
New Jersey: 24-21 -$531
Buffalo: 20-27 -$529
Seattle: 19-27 -$497
KNOW YOUR PUCK-LINE
Some of the good teams are also really strong versus the puck-line. Others are not. Vancouver, for instance, is 28-13 against the puck-line. On the other hand, the Rangers are on the top 10 list for the most profitable teams vs. the money-line but they're only 17-24 against the puck-line. Dallas has a solid winning record but is only 15-25 against the puck-line. The Leafs and Devils have been especially bad. Their puck-line records are 10-29 and 11-27, respectively. Then you've got Columbus. The Blue Jackets are among the worst teams but they've got a profitable 25-16 record vs. the puck-line.
O/U Trends
After each team had played roughly 20 games, I mentioned that it had been an equal split when it came to totals, as there were 152 unders and 151 overs. As the teams approach the 50-game mark, it's still quite equal. There have been 310 games which finished under the total and 297 games which went over. That's 51% vs. 49%. No real edge either way. If you throw out OT games, its roughly a 53% to 47% split, in favor of the under. So, if you know your game is unlikely to go to Overtime, it has a slightly better chance of staying below the total. Nothing worth wagering on though.
Top 10 Teams To Win The Cup
Edmonton Oilers +624
Colorado Avalanche +832
Boston Bruins +907
Carolina Hurricanes +1066
Florida Panthers +1097
New York Rangers +1167
Winnipeg Jets +1214
Dallas Stars +1231
Vancouver +1286
Vegas Golden Knights +1371
Just as one should know how teams are doing in the standings, it's important to understand how they're faring at the betting window. Four of this season's most profitable teams are barely above .500. On the other side of the coin, some of the least profitable teams in the league have winning records. Below are the top 10 most and least profitable teams, entering play on January 24th.
TOP 10 MOST PROFITABLE TEAMS
Vancouver: 32-15 +$1078
Detroit: 24-23 +$781
St. Louis: 23-22 +$714
Winnipeg 30-15 +$578
Arizona: 23-22 +$516
Philadelphia 25-23 +$386
Colorado: 30-17 +$342
NY Rangers 2918 +$306
Boston: 29-17 +$281
Florida: 28-18 +$239
TOP 10 LEAST PROFITABLE TEAMS
San Jose: 13-35 -$882
Toronto: 23-22 -$771
NY Islanders: 20-27 -$770
Minnesota: 21-26 -$756
Columbus: 14-32 -$686
Ottawa: 18-25 -$613
Calgary: 21-26 -$548
New Jersey: 24-21 -$531
Buffalo: 20-27 -$529
Seattle: 19-27 -$497
KNOW YOUR PUCK-LINE
Some of the good teams are also really strong versus the puck-line. Others are not. Vancouver, for instance, is 28-13 against the puck-line. On the other hand, the Rangers are on the top 10 list for the most profitable teams vs. the money-line but they're only 17-24 against the puck-line. Dallas has a solid winning record but is only 15-25 against the puck-line. The Leafs and Devils have been especially bad. Their puck-line records are 10-29 and 11-27, respectively. Then you've got Columbus. The Blue Jackets are among the worst teams but they've got a profitable 25-16 record vs. the puck-line.
O/U Trends
After each team had played roughly 20 games, I mentioned that it had been an equal split when it came to totals, as there were 152 unders and 151 overs. As the teams approach the 50-game mark, it's still quite equal. There have been 310 games which finished under the total and 297 games which went over. That's 51% vs. 49%. No real edge either way. If you throw out OT games, its roughly a 53% to 47% split, in favor of the under. So, if you know your game is unlikely to go to Overtime, it has a slightly better chance of staying below the total. Nothing worth wagering on though.
