Three Canadian Teams In The NHL Playoffs

The Stanley Cup playoffs are underway, and three of the seven Canadian teams are in the mix. In addition, all three teams currently sit within the top nine betting favorites to take home the championship trophy.

Can Canada claim its first Cup since 1993?

Online betting in Canada is heating up! It has been nearly three decades since a Canadian team laid claim to Lord Stanley’s Cup, with the last victory coming from the Montreal Canadians in their epic 1993 run. It is by far the longest drought in the nation’s history, but with three strong Canadian teams in action, the odds are as good as they have been in some time for the Cup to return. The Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs are vying for the title, and all have gotten off to a good start in the early going.

Calgary entered the playoffs as the third-most-favored team to win it all at +800 on the strength of their impressive 111 point season. Their Game 1 victory over Dallas combined with Florida’s loss to Washington has boosted their odds to +600 and makes them the second-most-favored team heading into the second game of their series. The Flames have just one Stanley Cup victory in franchise history, coming back in 1989.

Toronto tries to break their curse

The Maple Leafs were one of the most dominant teams in the early days of hockey, but they have famously been unable to take home the Cup since 1967, and they have not advanced past the first playoff round since 2004. The Leafs had a terrific regular season, piling up 115 points, and they entered the playoffs as the fourth-most-favored team at +900. They got a tough first round draw against the Lightning, but their odds still are +900 after splitting the first two games of their series. They have -110 odds of winning their series against Tampa Bay and at least casting off their unfortunate stretch of playoff ineptitude even if they don’t manage to win it all for the first time in more than 50 years.

The Edmonton Oilers had a strong season of their own with 104 regular season points, but they came into the playoffs as just the twelfth-most-favored team at +2500 odds. They picked up a favorable first round opponent in the LA Kings, and in spite of splitting the first two games of their series they are still a huge favorite to win the series at -210, and their odds of bringing home the Cup have increased to +1700. While the two other Canadian franchises have a significantly better chance on paper to win, everyone knows that a team that gets hot at the right time can go on a run and bring home the coveted Cup.

An exciting playoff season for fans all over Canada

The NHL playoffs are always a thrilling affair, and with the great Canadian teams in the mix and playing well in the early going it is sure to be must-watch action throughout. The country as a whole is starved for a victory, and specifically the Flames and Maple Leafs have gone far too long without bringing a title home to their fans and have their best chance to win in quite some time.

To make things even more interesting, hockey fans in Ontario now have the ability to legally wager on their favorite teams, and with the Maple Leafs playing well and carrying strong odds of at least making a deep run, fans have the opportunity to benefit financially at their favourite online gambling sites, as well as emotionally from their team’s success.