Lightning Enter NHL Playoffs as Heavy Stanley Cup Favorites

• The Tampa Bay Lightning enter the 2019 NHL Playoffs as +225 favorites to win the Stanley Cup
• Based on their red hot regular season, are the Lightning your best bet entering the postseason?
• Are there better value bets on the board? Who are they?

It’s finally playoff time and the hopes of Lightning fans everywhere couldn’t be higher.

Tampa Bay didn’t just walk into the playoffs, they blew the doors off every team entering the postseason. They come in as the favorite with 12 more wins than the second-best team, and 21 more points than the next closest club.

2019 Stanley Cup Odds

*Odds taken 04/07/19

Are the Lightning Worth the Money?

Betting the Stanley Cup odds favorite is always the safest play, but rarely is it ever the sexiest. Obviously, there are better paying teams on the board, but would it be wise to go throw dough at somebody else when the Bolts are so hot?

Tampa Bay enters the postseason having won 23 of their last 28 games.

This team has been consistent all year with 12 multi-game win streaks and enters the postseason having won 23 of their last 28. Taking them lightly now would be a huge mistake.

Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning each end the season with 128 points

— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) April 6, 2019

Oh, there’s also that! 2019 Art Ross winner Nikita Kurcherov enters the playoffs just as deadly as his beloved Bolts. He waltzes into the second season with 24-points through his last five weeks and change, while goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has just one loss in the last month. It all adds up nicely in Tampa.

You’d be wise to lean on the Bolts. You’d be wise to believe in the Bolts. You’d be wise to expect the Bolts to be playing into June. They are honestly that good.

Are there Better Value Bets on the Board?

For this section we need to look away from Tampa Bay. This does not mean that we feel that there are teams with a better chance. This means that we are looking for teams with a solid chance that could offer a better payday if lightning strikes (full pun intended).

In the East, we do like the looks of the Boston Bruins in their opening series and potential next round matchups. However, they’d still have to go through Tampa at some point. So, with that said, lets look to the West. A Western team could potentially make it to the big dance and face a beaten-up Bolts squad.

Jordan Binnington concluded 2018-19 with 24 wins (24-5-1; 1.89 GAA, .927 SV%, 5 SO), the most in a season by a @StLouisBlues rookie goaltender. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/D1x1taSHaU

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 6, 2019

The St. Louis Blues are the hottest team in the West based on their last 10 games. They enter the postseason on an 8-1-1 tear against a Jets team that is limping in. At +1400, if they can run the table on their rookie net-minder’s shoulders, like they mostly have thus far, they could be a solid backup pick as they are peaking at the right time.