Stanley Cup Odds Ahead of the Playoffs: Stats, Trends to Base Your NHL Picks & Predictions On

As you decide which team or teams to back with the NHL playoffs finally here, you'll want to use these stats to inform your Stanley Cup prediction.
Stanley Cup Odds Ahead of the Playoffs: Stats, Trends to Base Your Stanley Cup Prediction On
Pictured: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov. Photo by Kim Klement Neitzel via Imagn Images

It's the time of the year when you hope your Stanley Cup futures pick - or picks - will be a permanent fixture throughout the NHL playoffs, similar to the imprint of your backside on the couch while tuned into the best show on Earth.

In a sports world saturated with analytics, we're here to help you decide which stats to base your Stanley Cup predictions on ahead of the NHL postseason.

With the Stanley Cup odds acting as your North Star, I found some commonalities and trends several Cup-winning teams excelled at over the past few seasons and utilized them to showcase where the favorites stand in the statistical pecking order.

🏆 Live Stanley Cup odds

Stanley Cup odds via our best sports betting sites, updated in real time.

🔢 Stats to base your Stanley Cup predictions on

I found commonalities among the Stanley Cup winners from the past four seasons - the Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Florida Panthers. The below 10 stats are ranked in descending order, with scoring first win % as the most important. 

No Cup-winning team finished with a scoring first win % ranking below fourth. 

It turns out the 2021-22 Stanley Cup-winning Golden Knights weren't a statistically sound team. While I'm sure nobody in Sin City could care less about the analytics after their team lifted the Holy Grail in its sixth season, they had the worst ranking in four of 10 categories.

The 2021-22 Avalanche is as close to a flawless statistical team as you'll find. They didn't finish outside the top 10 in any of the featured categories, finishing in the top five six times.

Stat  Lightning (2020-21) Avalanche (2021-22) Golden Knights (2022-23) Panthers (2023-24)
Scoring first win % rank 4th  3rd 2nd 3rd
One-goal game win % 3rd 6th  T-5th 7th 
Win % leading after first period T-1st 3rd 6th 15th
Away point % 11th 10th T-2nd 2nd
PDO  12th  4th  3rd  8th 
Win % trailing after first period 1st  5th 19th  7th 
Win % trailing first 5th 8th  14th  4th 
Goals %  12th  5th  11th 4th 
Corsi % 9th 6th 22nd 2nd
Home point % 8th 1st T-12th 11th

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📈 Which 2025 Stanley Cup odds favorites should you bet on?

Here is how the 10 Stanley Cup odds favorites via our best sports betting apps fare from the analytics mentioned above. While there are various other factors to consider, these stats provide a solid baseline when deciphering which team(s) to put your hard-earned money behind.

Stat  DAL FLA COL VGK EDM WSH WPG TBL CAR TOR
Scoring first win % rank T-13th T-4th 15th 19th 12th T-6th T-1st 10th 3rd T-4th
One-goal game win % 10th   3rd 6th 24th 7th T-11th 2nd 30th 9th 1st
Win % leading after first period 11th 3rd T-5th T-16th 15th 13th 1st T-9th 12th 2nd
Away point % T-5th 15th 10th T-5th 9th 1st 3rd 16th  T-21st 2nd
PDO  4th  23rd 24th 11th 31st 7th 2nd 1st 27th 5th
Win % trailing after first period 20th 22nd 2nd 5th 3rd 18th  T-9th 6th 19th  1st
Win % allowing first goal T-1st 13th  T-9th T-1st 8th 5th 3rd 12th 24th 4th
Goals %  6th 9th 11th 8th 18th  5th 2nd 3rd 12th 4th
Corsi % 18th 2nd 4th 9th 3rd 10th 15th 13th 1st 29th
Home point % 6th 10th 11th 5th 13th 7th 2nd 4th 3rd 12th
Stanley Cup Odds Ahead of the Playoffs: Stats, Trends to Base Your Stanley Cup Prediction On
Pictured: Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube listens to a question from the media. Photo by John E. Sokolowski via Imagn Images

📝 Coles notes for the Stanley Cup odds favorites

  • While I'm not suggesting you head directly to one of our best sportsbooks and back the Toronto Maple Leafs or Winnipeg Jets, they are the most impressive teams, statistically speaking
  • Ranking 15th or lower in three categories, the Oilers are the worst statistical team of the 10 favorites
  • The Maple Leafs are the best at overturning one-goal deficits, whether it be after the first period or due to conceding first
  • The Jets, Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, and Panthers are the cream of the crop in scoring first win %, the most important stat based on the last four Stanley Cup winners
  • The Lightning are the third-worst team in the league in one-goal games, an incredibly worrying statistic entering the playoffs, where those situations arise more frequently than Craig Berube's blood pressure

🧠 Stanley Cup playoffs predictions, expert picks 

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