2023-24 NHL Playoffs Picks, Predictions, Odds

Our NHL Playoffs Picks will provide with you with Free Picks, Betting Market Analysis, Futures and Series Odds updates and much more throughout the 2023-24 NHL regular season.

Also, don't forget to check our NHL Picks this season!

NHL Playoffs Predictions

For the 2023-24 NHL Playoffs Picks, we're leaning on our stable of NHL Experts from the Action Network.

The stable are currently eying three teams to hoist the 2024 Stanley Cup next summer.

Check out their detailed betting analysis and strategy below:

2024 Stanley Cup Picks & Predictions

2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Picks

Edmonton Oilers (+1200)
Dallas Stars (+1800)
Los Angeles Kings (+2500)

2023 STANLEY CUP ODDS

Listed below are the opening odds prior to the start of the 2023-24 regular season, which begins on Tuesday October 10, 2024.

  • Colorado Avalanche +800
  • Toronto Maple Leafs +1100
  • Edmonton Oilers +1100
  • Boston Bruins +1300
  • New Jersey Devils +1300
  • Vegas Golden Knights +1300
  • Carolina Hurricanes +1300
  • Tampa Bay Lightning +1300
  • New York Rangers +1500
  • Dallas Stars +1700
  • Florida Panthers +2000
  • Los Angeles Kings +2000
  • Minnesota Wild +3200
  • Calgary Flames +3200
  • Pittsburgh Penguins +3500
  • Ottawa Senators +3800
  • Buffalo Sabres +4000
  • Winnipeg Jets +4000
  • New York Islanders +4500
  • Nashville Predators +5000
  • Vancouver Canucks +5000
  • Seattle Kraken +5000
  • St. Louis Blues +5500
  • Washington Capitals +5500
  • Chicago Blackhawks +9000
  • Philadelphia Flyers +9000
  • Montreal Canadiens +12000
  • Arizona Coyotes +13000
  • Columbus Blue Jackets +13000
  • San Jose Sharks +14000
  • Anaheim Ducks +15000

Stanley Cup Futures Odds Comparison

2023 NHL Eastern Conference Futures

Listed below are the opening odds prior to the start of the 2023-24 regular season.

  • Toronto Maple Leafs +600
  • New Jersey Devils +650
  • Carolina Hurricanes +650
  • Tampa Bay Lightning +700
  • Boston Bruins +700
  • New York Rangers +800
  • Florida Panthers +1100
  • Pittsburgh Penguins +1600
  • Ottawa Senators +2000
  • New York Islanders +2000
  • Buffalo Sabres +2000
  • Detroit Red Wings +2500
  • Washington Capitals +2500
  • Philadelphia Flyers +6500
  • Montreal Canadiens +7000
  • Columbus Blue Jackets +7500

Eastern Conference Odds Comparison

2023 NHL Western Conference Futures

Listed below are the opening odds prior to the start of the 2023-24 regular season.

  • Colorado Avalanche +400
  • Edmonton Oilers +550
  • Vegas Golden Knights +600
  • Dallas Stars +750
  • Minnesota Wild +950
  • Los Angeles Kings +950
  • Calgary Flames +1200
  • Seattle Kraken +2000
  • Winnipeg Jets +2000
  • St. Louis Blues +2200
  • Vancouver Canucks +2200
  • Nashville Predators +2400
  • Chicago Blackhawks +6500
  • Arizona Coyotes +7000
  • Anaheim Ducks +8500
  • San Jose Sharks +8500

Western Conference Odds Comparison

2023 NHL Point Total Odds

Listed below are the opening odds prior to the start of the 2023-24 regular season.

  • Anaheim Ducks 68.5
  • Arizona Coyotes 76.5
  • Boston Bruins 100.5
  • Buffalo Sabres 92.5
  • Calgary Flames 94.5
  • Carolina Hurricanes 105.5
  • Chicago Blackhawks 71.5
  • Colorado Avalanche 106.5
  • Columbus Blue Jackets 73.5
  • Dallas Stars 103.5
  • Detroit Red Wings 86.5
  • Edmonton Oilers 104.5
  • Florida Panthers 98.5
  • Los Angeles Kings 100.5
  • Minnesota Wild 97.5
  • Montreal Canadiens 71.5
  • Nashville Predators 87.5
  • New Jersey Devils 104.5
  • New York Islanders 91.5
  • New York Rangers 100.5
  • Ottawa Senators 91.5
  • Philadelphia Flyers 73.5
  • Pittsburgh Penguins 97.5
  • San Jose Sharks 65.5
  • Seattle Kraken 90.5
  • St. Louis Blues 86.5
  • Tampa Bay Lightning 100.5
  • Toronto Maple Leafs 104.5
  • Vancouver Canucks 89.5
  • Vegas Golden Knights 103.5
  • Washington Capitals 85.5
  • Winnipeg Jets 91.5

NHL Point Total Odds Comparison

NHL DIVISION WINNER MARKETS

The NHL is divided into two conferences and four divisions.

Listed below are the odds for those groups.

2023-24 NHL Division Favorites

Listed below are the opening odds prior to the start of the 2023-24 regular season.

Atlantic: Toronto Maple Leafs +300
Metropolitan: Carolina Hurricanes +240
Pacific: Edmonton Oilers +220
Colorado: Colorado Avalanche +145

NHL AWARDS FUTURES MARKETS

Listed below are the most popular NHL Player Awards betting markets for the 2023-24 NHL season.

NHL PLAYOFFS HISTORY

NHL STANLEY CUP FINAL HISTORY

The Stanley Cup Final is the pro hockey championship of the National Hockey League. The game pits the winner of the two conferences, Eastern and Western. The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers, 4-1 in five games of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. It was the first championship for the franchise in its six years of existence.

STANLEY CUP FINALS WINNERS (LAST 10 YEARS)

  • 2023 - Vegas Golden Knights
  • 2022 - Colorado Avalanche
  • 2021 - Tampa Bay Lightning
  • 2020 - Tampa Bay Lightning
  • 2019 - St. Louis Blues
  • 2018 - Washington Capitals
  • 2017 - Pittsburgh Penguins
  • 2016 - Pittsburgh Penguins
  • 2015 - Chicago Blackhawks
  • 2014 - Los Angeles Kings
  • Stanley Cup Finals History

NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS HISTORY

The Eastern Conference Finals is the pro hockey championship of the National Hockey League. The winner of this game advances to the Stanley Cup Finals.

  • 2023 - Florida Panthers
  • 2022 - Tampa Bay Lightning
  • 2021 - COVID (Format Change)
  • 2020 - Tampa Bay Lightning
  • 2019 - Boston Bruins
  • 2018 - Washington Capitals
  • 2017 - Pittsburgh Penguins
  • 2016 - Pittsburgh Penguins
  • 2015 - Tampa Bay Lightning
  • 2014 - New York Rangers
  • Eastern Conference Finals History

NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS HISTORY

The Eastern Conference Finals is the pro hockey championship of the National Hockey League. The winner of this game advances to the Stanley Cup Finals.

  • 2023 - Vegas Golden Knights
  • 2022 - Colorado Avalanche
  • 2021 - COVID (Format Change)
  • 2020 - Dallas Stars
  • 2019 - St. Louis Blues
  • 2018 - Vegas Golden Knights
  • 2017 - Nashville Predators
  • 2016 - San Jose Sharks
  • 2015 - Chicago Blackhawks
  • 2014 - Los Angeles Kings
  • Western Conference Finals History

NHL Eastern Conference Teams

The NHL Eastern Conference consists of 16 teams, divided into two divisions of eight. Those divisions are called the Atlantic and Metropolitan Division.

Atlantic Division

Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs

Metropolitan Division

Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals

NHL Western Conference Teams

The NHL Western Conference consists of 16 teams, divided into two divisions of eight. Those divisions are called the Central and Pacific Division.

Central Division

Arizona Coyotes
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets

Pacific Division

Anaheim Ducks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Seattle Kraken
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights

NHL MATCHUPS

If you’re betting on the NHL, then you’re definitely viewing the NHL Matchups on daily basis. This featured is loaded with information for every kind of sports bettor and is essential when it comes to winning your wagers. Similar to the NHL Scoreboard, every matchup begins with a designated home and away team and those clubs are designated a rotation number that’s determined in advance by the sportsbooks.

The NHL Games are listed in order of that rotation and the NHL Matchups also shows the times of those contests, which is presented in Eastern Standard Time Zone (ET).

NHL PLAYOFFS SCOREBOARD

The NHL Scoreboard not only provides the scores for the NHL Playoffs, but so much more.

The NHL Scoreboard is shown in periods, three to be exact. 

An NHL ice hockey game consists of 60 minutes, divided equally by 20 minutes and they’re labeled first (1), second (2), and third (3). Similar to other professional sports, the NHL doesn’t have ties anymore so you won’t see stalemates on the NHL Scoreboard anymore. In order to prevent ties, the league has created not one but two options to create a winner and a loser.

OVERTIME AND SHOOTOUTS

When you viewing the VegasInsider.com NHL scoreboard, you’ll sometimes see a 4 or 5 listed next to the third period. The fourth period (4) is known as Overtime, which is a 5-minute period and the first team to score becomes the winner. If the game is still tied after the overtime period, the NHL Scoreboard will go to the fifth (5) period or the Shootout. Each team is given three penalty shots to score on their opponent and whoever has more goals is deemed the winner. If the score remains tied, a ‘sudden death’ format will follow until a winner is declared. Make a note that Shootouts don't take place in the NHL Playoffs. 

The key feature is the Betting Odds and the NHL Scores provides a consensus line that is created by multiple sportsbooks in the United States. The NHL shows their line in Money-Line format which means you just have to pick the winner of the game. The O/U is abbreviated for the Over-Under or Total, which is a wager that accounts for all goals scored in the game. Bettors can go ‘high’ or ‘low’ for this matchup and cheer for both offensive or defensive units. Make a note that goals scored in the shootout only add ‘one’ goal to your total outcome.

The ATS column could easily be the most important feature on the NHL Scoreboard and it’s clearly for bettors looking for Against the Spread result. After the game is completed, the winning team is highlighted with a “Red Check” plus they also receive a “Cover” label in the ATS column. The Over or Under is given as well for the total, and don’t be surprised to see the word ‘Push’ which is a synonym for tie in the sports betting industry. If you are in a state where sports betting is legal, please check out our online sportsbook directory to find the best and most secure places to make NHL bets.

NHL PLAYOFF FORMAT

"THE FIRST TO WIN 16"

After the field of 16 is determined, the first team to win four best-of-seven series will be deemed the NHL Champion. 

In each of the best-of-seven series, the team with the higher seed will have home-ice advantage and they will host the first two games. 

The lower seed will then host the next two games and the remaining three games, if necessary, will be alternated with the higher seed hosting Game 5 and 7 while the lower seed hosts Game 6. 

In simple terms, the NHL Playoffs Format for a best-of-seven can be viewed as 2-2-1-1-1. 

NHL PLAYOFF SERIES BETTING

One of the most popular betting markets in the NHL Playoffs is the series prices, which focuses on the head-to-head matchup between two teams in the best-of-seven series. 

Also, bettors can wager on the Exact Outcomes for those series and those payouts are great.

NHL PLAYOFF BETTING TYPES

  • Money-line: This is an easy one. Simply pick which team will win outright. Say the Predators are up against the Avalanche in a series matchup – pick one team over the other to bring home the win. New bettors especially bet on the money-line as it's the simplest way to bet on a game.
  • Puck-Line: Like money-line, here you choose a team to win or lose outright. However, the difference lies in guessing how much they win/lose by. This number is always going to be -1.5 and +1.5, which is set by the sportsbooks. If you bet on the team -1.5, then they must win the game by two or more goals to cash your wager. And if you take the puck-line underdog (+1.5), then you're hoping that your team wins outright or loses by one goal to win your wager.
  • Totals: Also called over/under, this bet determines whether the final score will – combined – will be over or under what the sportsbook thinks.
  • Props: This betting market continues to rise in popularity and betting on both specific player and team statistics will increase your viewing pleaure. 
  • Live Betting: Forgot to put your bet in? No problem, just pull up the latest Live Betting markets or what many also call In-Game Wagering. These wagers can allow you to press, chase or even get out of wagers that you don't want any part of. The options are limitless and the action is Live! 
  • Futures: Feeling the itch to bet already? Futures can be placed weeks or sometimes months ahead of the game. For example, maybe you think the New York Rangers will bring it home this year in your NHL Playoffs Picks. Place a bet now ahead of the postseason to get in on the ground floor. Just pay attention as the odds can change, and your choice can even be knocked out!
  • Parlays: Called accumulator bets in the UK, parlays are a series of bets. The NHL Playoffs is the perfect time for parlays, where you can lay down a small bet of say $10 across five games. Win all five and you could be looking at a hefty return with your NHL Playoff Picks.