NHL 2016 Eastern Conference playoff odds: Matchups and betting preview

The Washington Capitals ran away with the best record in hockey, compiling a 56-18-8 record for 120 points in the regular season. Now, the Capitals will try to carry that momentum into a postseason run with sky-high expectations.

Washington is a +150 favorite to win the Eastern Conference and a +400 favorite to win the Stanley Cup at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Capitals started the season off on a remarkable 44-10-4 run, pulling away from the rest of the league before eventually opting to control playing time and roll four lines down the stretch to stay fresh for the playoffs.

The Philadelphia Flyers (+1400 to win the East) draw the Capitals in the first round as the final wild card, and might put up a fight with an 8-3 record in their last 11 games against Washington.

The winner of that series will go on to face the winner of the other Metropolitan series between the Pittsburgh Penguins (+450) and the New York Rangers (+700).

The Penguins are surging into the postseason with a 14-2 record over their last 16 games, and they’ll need to keep that level of play going against the Rangers. New York has knocked Pittsburgh out of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, and is 7-1 in its last eight postseason games against the Penguins.

Despite winning the Atlantic Division with a 47-26-9 record, the Florida Panthers (+800) have mostly flown under the radar this season. They’ll get the chance to prove themselves as a legitimate contender with a tough wild card draw in the New York Islanders (+1000).

Florida is 4-1 in its last five games against New York per the OddsShark NHL Database. The OVER is 8-0-2 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams for totals bettors.

In a rematch of last year’s seven-game first-round series, the Tampa Bay Lightning (+900) host the Detroit Red Wings (+1400), who made the playoffs on the last weekend of the season thanks to a Boston Bruins loss to Ottawa.

Tampa Bay will be without superstar Steven Stamkos in this series as the center is still out due to a blood clot in his arm. Tampa Bay went 8-4 in its last 12 playoff road games in 2015, but with Stamkos on the shelf they’ll have a harder time as they try to eventually pay off on the odds to win the Stanley Cup.