The NHL 2021-22 regular season ends Friday, April 29 with the Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning three days later – Monday, May 2
Some claim it is the best postseason event in all of sports. First, there is the overall speed and the skating finesse of the players, but more importantly, it’s hard to beat the excitement of an elimination game, especially in the third period or overtime.
Most sportsbooks offer three major options to betting on a hockey game: Money line (team to win outright), puck line (team required to win by a certain number of goals or not lose by as many goals) and an Over/Under line (total goals scored by both teams).
There are also numerous prop bets, including alternate spreads and betting on the highest scoring period.
For those looking to bet on NHL games in the state of Colorado, there are legal online sportsbooks which allow you to do so.
Interested in the betting status of other states? Check out our sports betting legality map.
How to win the Stanley Cup
Sixteen of the league’s 32 teams – eight per conference – qualify for the playoffs: the top three teams from each division and two wild cards (best remaining records) from each conference.
For a team to win it all, it must win four best-of-7 series, equaling 16 victories.
Back in the day, before there were so many teams, it only took eight victories – two best-of-7 series – to claim Lord Stanley’s Cup. This explains the tradition of Detroit Red Wings fans tossing dead octopuses on the rink during home playoff games, which reportedly began in 1952.
The Tampa Bay Lightning defended their 2020 crown by winning the Cup again last year, beating the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 1.
Most Stanley Cup titles
- 24: Montreal Canadiens (last title: 1993)
- 13: Toronto Maple Leafs: (1967)
- 11: Detroit Red Wings (2008)
- 6: Boston Bruins (2011)
- 6: Chicago Blackhawks (2015)
The rest
5: Edmonton Oilers (1990), Pittsburgh Penguins (2017)
4: New York Islanders (1983), New York Rangers (1994)
3: New Jersey Devils (2003), Tampa Bay Lightning (2021)
2: Colorado Avalanche (2001), Los Angeles Kings (2014), Philadelphia Flyers (1975)
1: Anaheim Ducks (2007), Calgary Flames (1989), Carolina Hurricanes (2006), Dallas Stars (1999), St. Louis Blues (2019), Washington Capitals (2018)
0: Vancouver Canucks (0-3 in Cup appearances, last losing in 2011), Buffalo Sabres (0-2, 1999), Florida Panthers (0-1, 1996), Nashville Predators (0-1, 2017), Ottawa Senators (0-1, 2007), San Jose Sharks (0-1, 2016), Vegas Golden Knights (0-1, 2018).
The Arizona Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets have never reached the Stanley Cup Final, while the Seattle Kraken are about to wrap up their inaugural season.