For those wondering, the New Jersey Devils are the only team among the 10 squads with the best NHL championship odds coming into the season to miss the playoffs.

When looking at the NHL news, the New York Rangers will look to become the first Presidents’ Trophy-winning team to win the Stanley Cup since the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks.

According to the NHL odds and predictions, the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars are priced at +700 in the odds of winning the Stanley Cup followed by the Colorado Avalanche, the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers at +800 in the championship odds.

Keep reading for information on the hottest forwards, defensemen and goalies, as well as players recently struggling, to help with your NHL spread picks.

Who’s Hot

Forwards

• Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets: Connor didn’t play in the regular-season finale but he has points in eight straight games with four goals and eight assists during that stretch.
• Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs: Matthews came up a goal short of becoming the first player since the 1992-93 season with 70 goals in a season, but it is hard to argue with nine goals over his last nine games.

Auston Matthews takes home the Rocket Richard Trophy! 🚀

Matthews scored 69 goals in 81 games. pic.twitter.com/rlYCiwLKQN

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 19, 2024

• Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning: This spot could easily have gone to teammate Nikita Kucherov, who had 16 assists and 18 points in April to win the scoring title and is a leading candidate in our sportsbook odds to win the Hart Trophy. However, the 10 goals in nine games gives the nod to Stamkos.

Defensemen

• Cody Ceci, Edmonton Oilers: Ceci gets overshadowed by some of the other Edmonton defensemen, but it is hard to ignore his two goals, two assists and +6 defensive rating over the last eight games.
• Noah Dobson, New York Islanders: Dobson had more assists this season than his previous career-high point total. He had just one game with a negative plus-minus rating in April, with his two goals and two assists giving him 70 points.
• Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets: In his seven games in April, Morrissey had two goals, eight assists and a +9 defensive rating. More importantly, Winnipeg was 7-0 in the month and the Jets are trending in the right direction in the Vegas NHL odds heading into the postseason.

Goaltenders

• Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets: Hellebuyck is 5-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and save percentage of .938 in his last five games.

Seven goalies have won the William Jennings and Vezina Trophies in the same season. They include Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Ed Belfour and Dominik Hasek.

Connor Hellebuyck’s about to join them. #NHLJets #GoJetsGo https://t.co/JH6diFbTMU

— Spinorama 🔄 Hockey (@spinohockey) April 19, 2024

• Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars: Oettinger stopped 160 of 170 shots over his last six games and posted a 1.65 goals-against average in those games.
• Semyon Varlamov, New York Islanders: Varlamov is 4-0 with a 1.59 goals-against average and a save percentage of .946 for an Islanders team that went 8-0-1 in the last nine games of the regular season.

Who’s Not

Forwards

• Jake DeBrusk, Boston Bruins: DeBrusk had one goal and one assist in his last 11 games. He had two shots on goal or less in six of those contests.
• Quinton Byfield, Los Angeles Kings: Byfield scored his 19th goal on March 7 and had gone 19 straight games without scoring again before finally scoring in the regular-season finale against the Chicago Blackhawks.

LET’S GOOO 💵

✅ Quinton Byfield goal +330

Pay that man ‼️💥pic.twitter.com/cn0MtFsBbK https://t.co/knjhOqJevP

— SystemPlays (@TheSystemPlays) April 19, 2024

• Connor McMichael, Washington Capitals: McMichael has one goal and no assists over his last 11 games and is -7 during that span.

Defensemen

• Josh Manson, Colorado Avalanche: Manson has one goal in his last 16 games, and had two points in seven games in April.
• K’Andre Miller, New York Rangers: It was a quiet end to his regular season with one point over his last 14 games. Miller had a negative plus/minus rating in six of his last 14 games.
• Dmitri Orlov, Carolina Hurricanes: Orlov not only has no points in his last nine games and he was -3 in the final game of the regular season.

Goaltenders

• Alexandar Georgiev, Colorado Avalanche: Georgiev is 1-3-1 with a goals-against average of 5.21 and a .853 save percentage in the last five games.
• Logan Thompson, Vegas Golden Knights: Thompson has a 3.23 goals-against average and .887 save percentage in his last five games.
• Joseph Woll, Toronto Maple Leafs: Woll had a save percentage of .884 and a 3.40 goals-against average in his last three games.

Questions of the Day