The NHL season is coming to a close, with one team already clinched for the playoffs and another already looking to 2024. With seven more playoff spots up for grabs, who will come out on top and win the Prince of Wales Trophy? It’s time to continue our NHL odds series with an Eastern Conference prediction and pick.
Boston is currently the top team in the Eastern Conference, holding a 13-point lead over Carolina with just 13 games left to play. They could clinch the top spot and the President's Trophy with 15 more points, but most likely will need less than that. The Bruins have been dominant all year long, becoming the Eastern Conference odds-on favorite. They are the fastest team ever to have 50 wins and 100 points. The one seed has not won the Eastern Conference since 2003-04 when Tampa Bay did it.
The Carolina Hurricanes currently sit second in the Eastern Conference. The Canes will be looking to make the playoffs for the fifth straight season. The last two seasons have ended in the conference semi-finals, but they did make a conference finals run in 2019. Carolina has won two consecutive division crowns and looks to add a third this season. The last time the two-seed in the Eastern Conference won the Stanley Cup, was Carolina in 2006.
Carolina’s NHL odds sit right behind the Maple Leafs currently, who sit fourth in the Eastern Conference but second behind Boston in their division. The Maple Leafs are fourth in the Eastern Conference in goal differential on the season. They have also been the second-best team in the NHL at home this season. Toronto looks to be the first Canadian team to win the Stanley cup since 1993. It would also be the Maple Leafs' first since 1967.
Teams outside the top slots still have a chance though. A division winner has not won the Prince of Wales Trophy since the Capitals did in 2018, and they were tied for third in the conference that season.
Here are the current Eastern Conference odds, courtesy of FanDuel
Current Eastern Conference Odds
Boston Bruins +210
Toronto Maple Leafs +500
Carolina Hurricanes +550
New Jersey Devils +600
New York Rangers +650
Tampa Bay Lightning +750
Pittsburgh Penguins +1700
Florida Panthers +3100
*Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why the Boston Bruins will win the Eastern Conference
This is one of the best teams the NHL has seen in a long time. They are on pace for 132 points in the regular season. This would tie the Bruins for most all-time with the Montreal Canadiens of 1976-77. That team won the Stanley cup over the Boston Bruins in a sweep. This may not bode well for the Bruins though. Generally, top-performing teams have struggled to get to the Stanley Cup. Of the top ten teams in terms of team points all time, only four have made it to the Stanley Cup finals. All four of those are from the 1970s and all four of them are the Montreal Canadiens.
This team is dominant at home though, and that will help in any series. They have lost only six times at home on the season, with three being in overtime, and two in a shootout. There are no shootouts in the playoffs, so those all become very winnable games as Boston has great depth. Furthermore, Boston has yet to lose four in a row in the year. They have only lost four games in a seven-game stretch one time in the year. That was also with a stretch of five games on the road in there. The Bruins will not play five on the road and do not have to worry about a shootout. Their dominance at home should propel them to a Prince of Wales Trophy. Understandable why their NHL odds for winning the East are priced at +210.
Why the Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Eastern Conference
This is one of the other dominant home teams in the Eastern Conference, with a 25-7-5 record at home this season. Their pitfall comes on the road, where they are 17-11-4. They also come from Canada, and while that should not matter, it does. The Eastern Conference has not been represented by a Canadian team in 2007 and it was the Ottawa Senators. They are the only team since the NHL went to an East/West format that comes from Canada to win the East.
Toronto also has the best power play unit in the Eastern Conference, and those situations win games in the playoffs. Further, Ilya Samsonov is fifth in the NHL in goals against average on the year, and good goaltending wins in the playoffs. Samsonov would have to turn his playoff fortune around though, as he is 1-6 currently in playoff games in the NHL. This is doable for him though, as playoff stud Andrei Vasilevskiy has shown. He started his career 4-5 in the playoffs with a sub-par save percentage before becoming a playoff beast.
Why the Carolina Hurricanes will win the Eastern Conference
Carolina has been closer to pedestrian than great as of late, but they still hold on to the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. They are just as good on the road as they are at home during the year, which makes a difference when it comes to the playoffs. If they can steal a game or two on the road in a given series, they have a wonderful chance of coming away with a win. They are 3-4 against other top Eastern Conference foes in New Jersey, Boston, and Toronto on the year. Luckily for them, they are 2-1 against New Jersey, which would be a second-round match-up, and not have to face Boston or Toronto until an Eastern Conference Finals.
For their first-round match-up, the currently slated opponent is the New York Islanders, whom they are 2-0 against. Pittsburgh is another option for the first round, and Carolina is 4-0 on the year against them. Finally, there is Florida, who they are 1-1 against and will face in the final game of the season. There are other options in Washington and Buffalo, but overall, Carolina will have a favorable first-round match-up which could propel them to a deep run. +550 NHL odds looks solid.
Why the New Jersey Devils will win the Eastern Conference
New Jersey is only given a 4% chance to win the Eastern Conference per the latest 538 sports projections. This may be because they are the youngest team in the NHL this year, with an average age under 25 years old. They are the only NHL rosiest like that this season. Part of this is two stud players that are both former number-one picks. Jack Hughes is only twenty-one years old but tied for 15th in the NHL with 81 points on the season. The 24-year-old Nico Hischier is tied for 67th in the NHL with 66 points. These two young studs can carry the way for New Jersey.
New Jersey also benefits from Vitek Vanecek. He is currently sitting with a 2.51 goals-against average, which is 11th in the league. Vanecek also has some past playoff experience in Washington, although he only appeared in three games, going 1-1 overall. Furthermore, he has won on big stages before, winning a bronze and silver for the Czech Republic in U18 tournaments on the world stage.
New Jersey will be underestimated in the NHL odds, but they have young talent and if they do not break through this year, this will be a roster that is primed for years to come.
Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win the Eastern Conference
Experience wins in the playoffs. This is the third most experienced team in the NHL and the heart of this team has been to the Stanley Cup Finals for three straight years. Andrei Vasilevskiy is a playoff monster. Last year he had a 2.52 goals-against average in the playoffs, but the prior two years, both times he was at a 1.90 goals-against average. He is a playoff wizard and has led this team to lots of trophies. Tampa is also tied for the second-best home record in the Eastern Conference, so this may just come down to jumping over Toronto to get home-ice advantage in the first round.
That would still set up a second-round date with Boston, but that should not scare this squad. Florida had home ice in the second round last year coming off a President's cup and Tampa swept them. In 2021, they took out the best team in the East in Carolina 4-1 in the second round. This team has no fear when it comes to the playoffs, and that makes them a great pick in the NHL odds.
Final Eastern Conference Prediction and Pick
The team to win the President’s Trophy has not won the Stanley Cup since 2013 and that was the Chicago Blackhawks. The best team in the Eastern Conference has not gone to the Stanley Cup since 2004. If it is not Tampa Bay, the question becomes which team can break through. Carolina has all the right pieces. They have playoff experience, young players, goal scorers, play well at home, and have great goaltending. Raanta gets hot, Aho scores in bunches and Carolina goes back to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Final Eastern Conference Prediction and Pick: Carolina Hurricanes (+550)
Follow Us
Subscribe