Bruins Bolster Their Roster And Are Now Runaway Favorites To Win The Cup At +400

Noah Strang breaks down his best NHL plays for Wednesday night's nationally televised doubleheader featuring action between the Rangers and Flyers as well as the nightcap between the Hurricanes and Golden Knights. He also examines the futures market and details which players may be on the move before the trade deadline on March 3rd.

All wagers can be placed with licensed Sportsbooks in the US.

We saw a slew of odd shifts amongst the league’s betting favorites this week due to the number of big trades that went down involving many of the NHL’s top contenders. Let’s take a look at where they sit after an entertaining week.

Stanley Cup Champion

As expected, the Bruins still hold the top odds moving all the way to +400. With the additions of Dmitri Orlov and Garnett Hathaway, the best team in the league just got a whole lot better and that’s been reflected in their odds which sat at +450 last week. Along with the trade, the Bruins have won their last seven in a row and are gunning for the best regular season of all time. I think it’s safe to say at this point that they will be the odds-on favorites to win it all as we enter playoff time.  

The Avalanche are still in the second spot and saw a small odd shift to +550 from +575. Colorado has won six in a row and we may see this number move significantly lower next week as they have still yet to make the big deadline acquisition that many are expecting. 

With Toronto’s second big splash in the past couple of weeks acquiring Jake McCabe, they moved even with the Hurricanes at +700. This is a bump for both teams who sat at +750 (Hurricanes) and +800 (Leafs) last week. The Canes made a deadline deal with the Edmonton Oilers but have not acquired a big name like any of the other contenders. 

Lastly, the Devils stood pat at +900 despite their Timo Meier trade. Assuming he has the impact on the team that most expect, this number could dip lower in the coming weeks. 

Trade Deadline Looms

With the trade deadline fast approaching, we’ve seen many of the top teams around the league make big moves to bolster their rosters and prepare for what they hope to be deep playoff runs. 

The league leading Boston Bruins got the week started by acquiring defenceman Dmitri Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals. In exchange, they sent forward Craig Smith, a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Capitals. As part of the deal, Washington will retain 50% of Orlov’s $5.1M salary and the Wild were brought in as a cap eater taking on 25% of Orlov’s price tag whilst shipping KHLer Andrei Svetlakov to the Bruins for a 2023 5th rounder. The move bolsters the Bruins’ bottom six and adds a high-caliber defenseman in Orlov to an already strong group on the blueline.

Next came a long-anticipated move from the Devils trading for star winger Timo Meier. In the deal, the Devils also got depth defenseman Scott Harrington, a few non-NHLers, and a 2024 5th-round pick. The Sharks received a 2023 first-round pick, 2024 2nd and 7th rounders, and a slew of mid-level prospects highlighted by 2020 1st-rounder Shakir Mukhamadullin. 

The Lightning also made their move to push for one more cup run acquiring middle-6 power forward Tanner Jeannot from Nashville. They gave up defenceman Cal Foote along with a 2025 top 10 protected first-round pick, a 2024 2nd rounder, and 3rd, 4th, and 5th rounders in 2023.

The Maple Leafs made sure not to be left behind making another big move for defenseman Jake McCabe, depth forward Sam Lafferty, and a pair of 5th-round picks. In return, Chicago retains 50% of McCabe’s salary, gets mid-tier prospects Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev, and obtained a 2025 top ten protected 1st rounder plus a 2026 2nd.

It’s also worth noting that the Rangers traded former first-round pick Vitali Kravtsov to the Canucks for Will Lockwood and a 2026 7th-rounder in what many believe to be a salary dump for a pending Patrick Kane deal that was finalized shortly after. 

New York Rangers-200 @ Philadelphia Flyers (6)

On Wednesday, we’ll see two teams at opposite ends of the Metropolitan division face off as the third place New York Rangers travel to Philadelphia to take on the seventh place Flyers. 

The divisional foes have met twice this year with the Rangers winning both games, 1-0 and 6-3, respectively. 

Coming into this matchup I expect nothing less than a season sweep from the Rangers. The team from the concrete jungle has upgraded its roster significantly since the two teams last met through the acquisition of star forward Vladimir Tarasenko. As for the Flyers, this time around they will be without impact forwards Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny, and James Van Riemsdyk due to injury. 

Along with these roster factors, these teams are moving in very different directions right now when it comes to on-ice play. New York is 6-3-1 in their past 10 games while the Flyers are really struggling at just 2-7-1, including losses in each of their last three. 

This reasoning will be illustrated in the moneyline with the Rangers set to come in as heavy favorites. Because of the poor odds, betting on the Rangers alone may not be all that worth it, even though they are a far healthier and superior team. 

Rather, look towards Mika Zibanejad’s anytime goal prop as a bet with a bit of added value that has cold hard facts to support a high likelihood of hitting. With odds likely coming in at around even (-100 to -125) and due to his recent scoring surge, there is some value to be had here. Zibanejad has found the back of the net in each of the team’s past seven wins with his total goal tally from those games being nine. I’ve already outlined why the Rangers are likely to win the game, which makes Zibanejad’s goal prop all the more enticing.

Carolina Hurricanes-135 @ Vegas Golden Knights (5.5)

The more competitive of the two Wednesday night TNT games should be this one as the red-hot, Metropolitan-leading Carolina Hurricanes travel west to take on the Pacific division leader Vegas Golden Knights. 

The two high-caliber teams have yet to see each other this season which makes this an interesting test to see how one of the Eastern Conference’s best stacks up with one of the best teams the West has to offer. 

The Hurricanes are likely to sit as short favorites for this clash as they have been playing lights recently, winning eight of their past ten and 12 of 15. Vegas hasn’t been on the torrid pace of the Hurricanes but are a respectable 6-1-3 in their last 10. However, the Golden Knights will be without one of their most valuable players for this matchup as Mark Stone was placed on LTIR last week. Due to the Hurricanes’ incredible form and the critical Stone injury, Carolina is the best bet when it comes to the moneyline. 

My best bet overall however, belongs to the under. The line will likely be set at 5.5 or 6 and I like these two teams to come in below that mark. With the Hurricanes third in the league in goals allowed and the Golden Knights 10th, both teams clearly know how to lock it down defensively. Along with this, being that both these teams are at the top of their respective divisions and probably looking to flex some muscle as some of the league's elites, this should have the feel of a playoff game. As I have said before, playoff-esque games tend to be more structured and include a lot of board play which often leads to fewer goals.