Bettors Expect Colorado to Dethrone Stanley Cup Champ Tampa Bay

A three-peat by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup finals would surprise the public, according to odds posted by the sportsbooks.

The two-time defending champions are listed as +165 underdogs against the Colorado Avalanche (-195), according to BetRivers and PlaySugarHouse. About two-thirds of the action — 66 percent handle, 68 percent tickets — has poured in on the Avs.

The series commences Wednesday in Denver.

Odds released Tuesday morning by BetMGM told a mostly similar story with Colorado holding a better-than two-to-one edge in tickets and handle over Tampa Bay.

The home standing Avalanche, who haven't played since eliminating the Edmonton Oilers in five games on June 6, come in as -175 favorites on the moneyline and -1.5 favorites on the puck line, according to BetMGM.

DimersBOT Suggested Bet: Lightning has a 1.3% Edge on the moneyline.

Bettors aren't just confident the Avs will win; they're confident they'll win comfortably with 75% of the ticket and 68% of the handle going Colorado's way.

And here ... we ... go. @TBLightning vs. @Avalanche for the #StanleyCup! https://t.co/cARFvZAiWo

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 14, 2022

Colorado carved out the second-best record behind Florida in the NHL’s regular season while the Lightning has opened every series in the playoffs on the road.

At one point of the season, the Lightning stood at +2000 to claim the title. The Avalanche went no higher than +550.

Colorado has drawn a wager of $2,500 in pre-finals action, which pales next to a whopping $10,000 play on Tampa Bay.

On the betting menu, the most one-sided lean is whether the series will be decided in at least six games. Some 96 percent of the handle and 68 percent of tickets are in support of Over 5.5 at -150.

The most popular series outcome is an Avalanche victory in six games at +450. Some 26 percent of the money and 27 percent of bets back the result.

Avs defender Cale Makar carries favorite status for the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the Most Valuable Player of the entire postseason. At +195, Makar reeled in 27.2 percent of the handle and 15.2 percent of tickets, according to BetRivers.

Teammate Nathan MacKinnon (+220) ranks second of the remaining candidates at 13.8 percent of wagers but is a fraction behind the Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevsky (+425) for money. The Tampa Bay goalie accounts for 12.9 percent, compared to 12.3 for MacKinnon. Vasilevsky represents 12.5 percent of tickets.

Nikita Kucherov has joined an exclusive NHL club. 👀👏 pic.twitter.com/D1Mcn1XgoJ

— theScore (@theScore) June 12, 2022

Another Lightning star, winger Nikita Kucherov (+450), holds the next spot at 7.2 percent of the money and 4.7 percent of wagers.