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Bettors are backing the Vegas Golden Knights in their quest to win the Stanley Cup over the Carolina Hurricanes, beginning with Tuesday’s Game 1 showdown.

Key Takeaways

• The Knights just swept the Stanley Cup favorite Colorado Avalanche.
  
  
• BetMGM shortened the Hurricanes from -140 at opening to -155 in Game 1.
  
  
• DraftKings bettors submitted more player props on Knights winger Pavel Dorofeyev than any other player.

Betting insights from BetMGM shared with Covers showed that, among all Golden Knights versus Hurricanes picks, 58% of tickets and 68% of the Game 1 moneyline handle are on Vegas. That’s despite the team moving from +115 at opening to +125, while Carolina is now -155. 

The Knights - currently +120 to be crowned champions - also have the public series advantage at BetMGM, claiming 10.4% of all tickets and 21% of the money wagered in the Stanley Cup odds future market. The Hurricanes (-145 series odds) have just 10% of wagers and 15.7% of the handle supporting them. 

“Bettors have backed the Golden Knights throughout the season, making them a liability for us on the futures market,” said BetMGM senior sportsbook trader Matthew Rasp. “The Hurricanes are favorites to lift the Cup and that would be a favorable outcome for the book.”

FanDuel told a similar story, with 62% of bets and 59% of the pot supporting the Knights in the series. However, 53% of tickets and 69% of the Game 1 moneyline handle are on the Hurricanes, who will begin the series on home ice.

The Hurricanes were tied for the shortest Stanley Cup odds in the Eastern Conference when the playoffs began, tying the Tampa Bay Lightning at +500. They shortened to +275 in the second round and +175 in the conference finals before falling to their current value of -145, per BetMGM.

The Golden Knights followed a much different path. Their +1,000 odds at the beginning of the playoffs were well behind the Avalanche (+300) and tied with the Dallas Stars. They shortened to +600 in the second round but only moved to +575 in the conference finals, where they were sizable underdogs against the Avs.

However, a wildly unexpected 4-0 sweep in the Western Conference Final helped the Knights surge up the oddsboard to the +120 value at the time of writing.

Setting the tone

Tuesday’s series opener represents just one of the four wins needed to claim the title, but history suggests it can go a long way toward shaping the series outcome.

Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven series own a 546-255 all-time record (68.2%), according to NHL Records. That number jumps to 74.7% for teams that open the series at home, while road teams that take a 1-0 lead have gone on to win 57.2% of the time.

Game 1 player props

Individual moments of brilliance and glaring mistakes often shift the balance of power throughout a series.

DraftKings Sportsbook shared with Covers that the most-bet NHL player props of the day all involve possible goal-scorers. Golden Knights winger Pavel Dorofeyev (+220), who scored 10 goals in 16 playoff games, topped the board, followed by Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven (+250) and Knights winger Mark Stone (+320). 

Hurricanes center Seth Jarvis (+1,200) is responsible for the fourth most-bet prop of the day, claiming the most tickets for first goal-scorer. Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (+270 anytime goal-scorer) rounded out DraftKings’ five most popular player props.

Conn Smythe Trophy odds

Despite not being mentioned in any of the most popular player prop bets, Golden Knights winger Mitch Marner is the Conn Smythe odds leader at +150 at BetMGM. He has 11% of tickets and 17.5% of the handle, both the leading amounts for players still active in the playoffs.

Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen is a close second at +250 with 7.8% of bets and 14.6% of the pot backing him. Hurricanes winger Taylor Hall (+650) leads the chase pack but is only responsible for 2.3% of wagers and 2.2% of the money.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Philadelphia Flyers may have just gotten a major boost in their pursuit of a No. 1 center, and they won't have to look very far.

Two of the Flyers' biggest weaknesses are center depth and speed, and those go hand in hand when superimposed.

Top center prospect Jett Luchanko may be able to help in that aspect, but he's just 19 years old, needs to develop his offensive game, and has yet to play a full pro season.

To bridge the gap, the Flyers will need to explore the NHL trade market, as offer sheets for the top RFAs this year are just plain unrealistic at this point in time.

Fortunately, the Flyers just got a clear new No. 1 trade target to address the center position and lack of speed, and that's none other than New York Islanders star Mat Barzal, who is, perhaps surprisingly, a candidate to be traded this summer.

As reported by Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen, "A league executive told The Citizen that the New York Islanders are exploring the market for forward Mathew Barzal. The club would like to clear some cap space, but it’s a big financial commitment with four years left at $9.15 million through 2030-31."

Barzal's $9.15 million cap hit is chump change to the Flyers, who are now free of the cap charges left behind by Kevin Hayes, Scott Laughton, and Cam Atkinson.

Even after they inevitably re-sign Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, the Flyers will have plenty of cap space to fit in a No. 1 center, and they can give themselves further breathing room by moving on from Rasmus Ristolainen and his $5.1 million cap hit, as they are widely expected to.

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Barzal, 29, does have a 22-team no-trade list that presents as a roadblock for the Flyers, but other than that, there's no reason a deal can't work between the two sides.

For the Flyers, Barzal has played center on and off throughout his 10-year NHL career, though he's been more of a winger in recent seasons.

To that end, though, Barzal is a two-time 80-point scorer with a respectable 42% career faceoff percentage, and he's a right-shot center that the Flyers would covet for matchup purposes.

In the 2023-24 season, when Barzal scored 22 goals and 80 points in 80 games, he ranked in the 97th percentile in max skating speed and in the 98th percentile in miles skated per game, according to NHL EDGE.

That's a player who can help the Flyers with their woeful transition and zone entry game on both the power play and even strength, and someone whose playmaking skills and speed would be big helps for someone like Matvei Michkov.

Given that the Islanders reportedly want to clear cap space, they're likely seeking a strictly future-oriented package for their best forward.

The Flyers could make a bid involving center prospects like Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt, and they have three first-round picks in the next two drafts, including the 21st overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Some combination of these assets should be a good starting point to entice the Islanders to make an in-division deal with the Flyers, whom it would behoove to strike while this iron is hot.

Former New York Rangers forward Manny Malhotra has been named head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. 

The Canucks finished last in the NHL standings with 58 points, and after sweeping front-office changes that included bringing in Ryan Johnson as general manager and Henrik and Daniel Sedin as co-presidents, the previous head coach, Adam Foote, was fired.

Malhotra most recently served as the head coach of the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks, while he also has experience in an assistant coaching role with both the Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

“Manny and I have been in the battle together before, so I know firsthand what a good teacher, leader, and quality person he is,” Johnson said. 

“Connection, consistency and putting in place the proper foundation will be key for our group moving forward. Manny is a great coach who has the right skillset and mentality to help players develop and get better each day. We both believe that pressure is a privilege, and learning to become a good pro takes patience, dedication, and a ‘be better than yesterday’ mindset. He loves the game and getting to know what makes his players tick and I am very confident Manny will help us ice a competitive and hard-working team that our fans will be proud of moving forward.”

The Mississauga native started his NHL career with the Rangers, being drafted by the Blueshirts in 1998 with the seventh overall pick in the first round. 

Over four seasons and 206 games playing for the Rangers, Malhotra recorded 19 goals, 22 assists, and 41 points. 

Malhotra also went on to play for the Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, and Montreal Canadiens before officially retiring in 2016.

Buffalo Sabres team captain Rasmus Dahlin was one of three finalists for the Norris Trophy after leading his club to their first playoff appearance in 15 years, but on Tuesday it was announced that Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski won the annual award for the league’s best blueliner, finishing ahead of two-time winner Cale Makar for his first Norris Trophy. 

Werenski who led or was near the top of several categories for NHL defensemen in 2025-26 and tied the single-season Blue Jackets franchise records for assists, finished with 113 first-place votes and 1,589 points. Makar had 47 first place votes and 1,191 points. Dahlin had 13 first-place votes and 657 points, 104 points ahead of Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard, and 297 points ahead of Detroit’s Moritz Seider. 

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Dahlin was also named one of the three finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey” along with Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog and Winnipeg’s Jonathan Toews. The winner will be announced at some point during the Stanley Cup Final. 

While the Carolina Hurricanes host the Vegas Golden Knights in Raleigh for the first two games on Tuesday and Thursday, the rest of the hockey world is descending on Buffalo for the annual NHL Scouting Combine at the LECOM Harborcenter. Most team representatives are already here, interviewing perspective draftees and talking with other clubs about possible trades ahead of or during the NHL Draft later this month.

The Sabres have the 27th pick in the first round, but it would be surprising if GM Jarmo Kekalainen dealt the pick with Buffalo hosting the draft this year. Buffalo does not have a second-round pick, which was traded to Ottawa in the Dylan Cozens / Josh Norris deal in March 2025, and their third round pick was sent to the NY Rangers in the Sam Carrick deal.  

With just under $13 million in cap space, Kekalainen has limited flexibility unless he sheds some salary on the roster, which is likely the reason why the chances of re-signing winger Alex Tuch are slim. The Sabres have RFA’s Michael Kesselring, Peyton Krebs, and Zach Benson to re-sign, as well as UFA Beck Malenstyn, which could mean some significant changes to the Buffalo roster next season. 

Tuch reportedly is looking for more than $10 million per season on a new deal, and with a very thin unrestricted free agent class and the NHL salary cap increasing to $104 million, it appears to be a perfect storm for the Sabres winger to hit the jackpot on July 1. The same goes for Malenstyn, who was extremely effective as a fourth-line crash-and-bang winger, and will look for a raise from his $1.35 million salary. 

Kesselring, who was injured on multiple occasions last season, is unlikely to crack the Sabres top-four blueline group, and with one year until qualifying for unrestricted free agency, the 26-year-old may be looking to go somewhere where he can get more playing time. 

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NEW YORK (AP) — Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman, the league announced Tuesday.

Werenski was second in points at the position with 81 on 22 goals and 59 assists. It’s the first time he has won the award in his career.

The 28-year-old was first on 113 ballots in voting by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Colorado’s Cale Makar was second, Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin third and Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard fourth.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl