NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2026 Odds, Hot Takes, Top Storylines Entering Postseason Bracket

The Colorado Avalanche come into the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the clear favorite to hoist the cup in June.

However, history is not on the side of Nathan MacKinnon and Co. since Presidents' Trophy winners have a decade-long championship drought.

The Canadian NHL squads have an even longer Cup-winning drought. Only three of the seven Canadian teams are in the 16-team bracket this time around.

All of the action starts Saturday with the first round and goes into mid-June.

One thing is for sure: a new Stanley Cup champion will be crowned after the Florida Panthers, the two-time reigning champion, missed the postseason.

Stanley Cup Odds

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Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Colorado (+360; bet $100 to win $360)

Tampa Bay (+480)

Carolina (+600)

Vegas (+1100)

Edmonton (+1200)

Dallas (+1300)

Ottawa (+1400)

Buffalo (+1500)

Minnesota (+1500)

Montreal (+1900)

Pittsburgh (+2200)

Boston (+2700)

Anaheim (+3500)

Philadelphia (+3500)

Los Angeles (+5000)

Utah (+5000)

Top Storylines to Watch

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Can Colorado Break Presidents' Trophy Curse?

The Avalanche will try to become the first Presidents' Trophy winner to hoist the Stanley Cup since 2013.

However, the Avs have a difficult path just to reach the Cup Final. They face either Dallas or Minnesota in the second round. That's a series worthy of being played in the championship round.

If Colorado gets past the second round, it will likely face a red-hot Vegas team, or an Edmonton team that's been to the last two Cup finals.

Getting to the conference finals would be an achievement in its own right given the history of recent Presidents' Trophy winners. The New York Rangers in 2015 and 2024 are the only Presidents' Trophy champions to reach the third round of the postseason.

Will Canada End Its Title Drought?

Canada's Stanley Cup drought dates back to 1993.

Whether or not a Canadian team will win the Stanley Cup is always one of the most talked about topics entering the postseason.

Ottawa, Montreal and Edmonton are the Canadian teams in the 2026 bracket. The Oilers have been to the last two Stanley Cup finals, but they finished with the 14th-most regular-season points.

The Canadiens earned the most points of any team north of the border. They don't have an easy first-round matchup with Tampa Bay, but in terms of regular-season form, they are in the best shape to end the three-decade drought.

Can Any New Playoff Entrants Make Noise?

Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Anaheim and Utah all qualified for the postseason after missing it last season.

A majority of those franchises ended years-long droughts. That also means most of their rosters do not have playoff experience.

The Bruins play the Sabres and the Penguins face the Flyers in the first round, so two of those teams are guaranteed to make the second round.

The Ducks and Mammoth will be significant underdogs against the Oilers and Golden Knights.

The Bruins-Sabres series winner probably has the best chance to make a deep run. The Lightning are experienced, but they are getting older and the Canadiens are not proven in the postseason yet.

The Penguins-Flyers winner likely faces a Carolina team that many will pick to win the East. It's hard to imagine the Ducks or Mammoth getting out of the first round.

Postseason Hot Takes

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Tampa Bay Fails to Compete In First Round

Many fans and experts will point to Tampa Bay's titles in 2020 and 2021 under Jon Cooper as an edge in the postseason.

But the Lightning haven't played that well in the buildup to the postseason. They only won more three or more games in a row once after March 1. They also went 0-4 against Buffalo and Montreal in the final six weeks of the regular season.

The Lightning lost four of their last six and collected 12 losses in their last 24 games.

A team with that top-end talent, led by Nikita Kucherov, could always get hot, but it certainly isn't in good shape going into a first-round series against a hungry Montreal squad.

Vegas Wins Western Conference

Vegas won seven of its last eight games after John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy as head coach.

The move, albeit late in the season, paid off for the Golden Knights to capture a wide-open Pacific Division race.

The Golden Knights won in Edmonton and Colorado during that streak and only lost once in a shootout to Seattle.

Vegas didn't allow more than three regulation goals during that nine-game stretch either.

Everything seems to be going in Vegas' direction, and if it continues to play tight defense, it absolutely can compete with the higher-scoring squads in the West, like Colorado and Edmonton.