NHL futures odds 2024: Top Stanley Cup playoff predictions, series picks, best bets by proven hockey expert

The most exciting part of the NHL season is finally here as the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs get underway. The New York Rangers ended the regular season with 114 points and won the President’s Trophy, and they are the favorite in their first-round matchup against the Washington Capitals. However, a President’s Trophy winner hasn’t won the Stanley Cup since the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks. Can you trust the Rangers at +800 to win the championship and +400 to win the East in spite of the President’s Trophy curse?

Elsewhere in the 2024 NHL futures, the Carolina Hurricanes are +300 favorites to win the East and make it to the Stanley Cup Final after ending the regular season with a +63 goal differential. They are followed by the Florida Panthers (+350), Rangers (+400), Boston Bruins (+550) and Toronto Maple Leafs (+700) in the Eastern Conference championship odds. Before making any hockey picks or 2024 NHL futures bets, be sure to see the latest NHL predictions from SportsLine basketball expert Bruce Marshall.

One of Marshall’s top 2024 NHL futures picks: He’s backing the Nasvhille Predators (+1800) to win the Western Conference. The Preds were a longshot to make the playoffs when they suffered a 9-2 loss to the Dallas Stars at Bridgeston Arena back on Feb. 15. However, Roman Josi and company did a complete 180 and went 20-5-3 after that to emerge one of the hottest teams in the league.

Nashville won three of its last four regular-season games and scored three or more goals in each of those games. In the season finale, Josi and Tommy Novak each scored twice in a 6-4 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, capping off a season where head coach Andrew Brunette got the team to play what Marshall calls “fast-break hockey.”

“A main beneficiary was Filip Forsberg, who posted career-best numbers in his twelfth season, including 48 goals (and 94 points),” Marshall told SportsLine. “Juuse Saros also stabilized in goal the last two months of the season with Kevin Lankinen providing proper relief.” See the rest of Marshall’s NHL futures bets at SportsLine.