The 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs are here with 16 teams vying for this year’s championship. The NHL’s postseason is viewed as the most unpredictable of the major team sports, but one contender stands out as the betting favorite.

Who will win the Stanley Cup? The opening playoffs odds give the Colorado Avalanche the best chance to become 2022 NHL champions.

The Avalanche have +320 Stanley Cup odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. The Florida Panthers are second in the NHL with +550 odds. The Calgary Flames are third with +700 odds.

Colorado finished atop the Western Conference standings with 119 points in the regular season. The Avalanche have home-ice advantage in their first-round series against the Nashville Predators, which have the fewest points of any playoff team.

Nashville is 14th among the 16 playoff teams with +3500 odds to win the Stanley Cup.

Colorado has outscored its opponents by 78 goals. The Avalanche are the only team that ranks in the top five in goals scored and the top 10 in goals allowed.

The Avalanche have been defeated in the second round of the playoffs in three straight seasons. Colorado last won the Stanley Cup in 2001.

Florida’s 4.11 goals per game are easily the highest in the NHL. The Panthers have a league-best plus-94 goal differential. Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky finished 19th in save percentage.

The Panthers’ only Stanley Cup Finals appearance came in 1996 when they were defeated by the Avalanche in six games. Florida took the Tampa Bay Bay Lightning to six games in the 2021 playoffs.

Tampa Bay is looking to become the first team in four decades to successfully three-peat. The Lightning start the playoffs with +1100 odds to make history.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs are both ahead of Tampa Bay with +1000 championship odds. Either the Maple Leafs or Lightning will fail to reach the second round since the two teams will face off in a first-round series.

Toronto finished right in front of Tampa Bay for second place in the Atlantic Division. Maple Leafs center Austin Matthews led all players with 60 goals scored. Veteran Steven Stamkos led the Lightning with 42 goals and 106 points.

A season after winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, Andrei Vasilevskiy finished ninth in goals allowed per game for Tampa Bay.

The Edmonton Oilers (+1600), Minnesota Wild (+1600), New York Rangers (+1700), and Boston Bruins (+1800) are all given a real chance to win the Stanley Cup. The Pittsburgh Penguins (+2000) and St. Louis Blues (+2100) can be contenders this postseason.

The Washington Capitals (+3000) are not expected to make a run to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Dallas Stars (+5000) Los Angeles Kings (+5000) are both long shots.

Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point celebrates after scoring a goal in the Lightning's 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars to claim their second Stanley Cup crown in franchise history
Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point celebrates after scoring a goal in the Lightning's 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars to claim their second Stanley Cup crown in franchise history GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / BRUCE BENNETT
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