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The road to the Stanley Cup Final is taking shape as most of the first round has been completed with everyone but the North Division beginning Round 2. Once teams advance to the final four, they’ll be reseeded based on their regular season points total with the No. 1 team playing the No. 4 and the No. 2 and No. 3 teams facing off.
For one team, getting to the finals is just seven wins away and at plus money, looks like a great future play.
To Reach the Stanley Cup Final — Boston Bruins (+120 at PointsBet)
The Boston Bruins are already leading their Round 2 matchup against the New York Islanders after a convincing 5-2 win on Saturday night in the opener. The victory was fueled by a David Pastrnak hat trick which helped give the third-seeded Bruins their fifth straight victory in the playoffs.
Boston dismantled a Washington team in five games in the first round and showed a lot of character coming back to win that series after dropping the first game and trailing in the series’ first three games. Boston ended up outscoring the Caps 16 to 10. On Saturday, they easily picked up the home win versus the Islanders as the Bruins’ top two lines dominated the game and finished with an xgoal percentage of 86 percent and a Fenwick percent above 80. If Saturday’s game is any indication of where the Islanders/Bruins series is headed, Bruce Cassidy’s group could be making it to the final four by early next week.
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Here is where things get interesting. If Boston advances to the semi-finals and Colorado, Carolina and Toronto advance, the B’s will face off against the Avalanche which is the hardest draw in the third round. However, if the Jets or Canadiens make it to the semi-finals, Boston would be the third seed and face the winner of the Tampa Bay/Carolina series which is better than facing the odds on favorite to win it all.
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The Bruins currently have the second-highest odds to reach the Stanley Cup Finals (+120 at PointsBet). Through six postseason games, Boston is averaging 3.5 goals per game and giving up just 2.00 per contest. Tuukka Rask is looking like the playoff goalie we’ve come to remember as the Finnish netminder owns a 1.84 GAA with a .937 save percentage. The power play is humming too and is 7 for 21 this postseason. Boston also came into the playoffs with a 15-7-2 record since the trade deadline and has continued to climb the outright market (+400 at PointsBet).
The Bruins can score, shut down teams, and with a little luck, could have a path to the finals that doesn’t include the Colorado Avalanche.
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