The NHL Round-Robin to determine playoff seedings is in the books. Check out an update on the National Hockey League’s double-bubble as well as previews of this year’s NHL Playoff first round series so you can set down your bets against their NHL odds!

NHL COVID-19 Update – August 11th Edition

NHL 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs

• When: September 22 – October 4
• Where: TBD

NHL Stanley Cup Odds

• Boston Bruins +800
• Tampa Bay Lightning +750
• Colorado Avalanche +550
• Vegas Golden Knights +450
• St. Louis Blues +1200
• Philadelphia Flyers +525
• Washington Capitals +1000
• Dallas Stars +1400
• Vancouver Canucks +1800
• Calgary Flames +1700
• Carolina Hurricanes +1100
• New York Islanders +1600
• Arizona Coyotes +3000
• Columbus Blue Jackets +2200
• Chicago Blackhawks +3300
• Montreal Canadiens +3000

No positive coronavirus test in NHL double-bubble

The National Hockey League’s 2-city restart yielded no positive coronavirus tests last week. That’s a huge positive for the league as it heads into the playoffs.

Most hockey fans expected zero positives. Since the league restarted the season in Edmonton and Toronto, a positive Covid test hasn’t happened. 

That means the hockey league came up with a viable way to finish their season. 

It also means that instead of worrying about whether the NHL must cancel or reschedule matches, ala Major League Baseball, sports handicappers can do what we do best. 

Choose winners!

NHL Playoff first round series are set

The 2019-2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs start on Tuesday, August 11. Check out previews for each series!

Series Starting August 11

Columbus Blue Jackets +145 vs Tampa Bay Lightning -170

The Lightning are favored for the simple reason they were one of the top teams to enter the NHL double-bubble. Tampa should beat the Jackets, but Columbus beat Toronto, a bubble city team, 3-2.

Calgary Flames -105 vs Dallas Stars -115

This projects as one of the most competitive first round series in the NHL Playoffs. The Stars went 1-2 in their round-robin games, though. They got outscored a combined 10-5 in their three matches.

Carolina Hurricanes +120 vs Boston Bruins -140

Carolina may offer overlay odds in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals rematch series. The Hurricanes swept the New York Rangers 3-2, 4-1, 4-1 to stamp their playoff ticket.

Chicago Blackhawks +170 vs Vegas Golden Knights -200

Nobody expects Vegas to fall to the Blackhawks. But before blindly dumping on Sin City, realize that Chicago beat Edmonton, a host city, 3 games to 1.

Series Starting August 12

New York Islanders +115 vs Washington Capitals -135

Make sure to do your hockey handicapping. The Islanders are a good team. They beat Florida 3 games to 1. Washington went 1-2 during the round-robin, but they’re solid in every way. 

Arizona Coyotes +150 vs Colorado Avalanche -180

AZ upset the Nashville Predators 3-1 to take their play-in series. Colorado beat St. Louis 2-1, the Stars 4-0, and barely lost to Vegas 3-4. The Avalanche look as close to a sure thing as any in the first round.

Montreal Canadiens +140 vs Philadelphia Flyers -165

Heading into the shutdown, the Flyers were the hottest squad in the league. Since the restart, Philadelphia has picked up where they left off, going 3-0 versus the Bruins, Caps, and Lightning. 

Vancouver Canucks +130 vs St. Louis Blues -150

After losing the first game 0-3, the Canucks dominated the favored Minnesota Wild. They beat the Wild 4-3, 3-0, and 5-4. The defending champs didn’t win a single round-robin game. Will St. Louis flip the switch starting on Wednesday?

The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are here. Because the league showed no coronavirus positives, teams can get down to business and battle for the Cup.

Have a great week!