Betting oddsmakers bearish on Rangers’ Stanley Cup chances

The New York Rangers will likely punch a ticket to the playoffs this season, but betting odds-makers are bearish on the Blue Shirts’ chances of hoisting the Stanley Cup.

Sitting at a 40-19-5 record, the team is currently third in the Metropolitan Division, 3 points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and 5 points behind the first-place Carolina Hurricanes. The team from Madison Square Garden is also fending off the surging Washington Capitals, who trail the Rangers by 5 points, and currently hold the second Wild Card spot.

The Blue Shirts have 18 games remaining on their schedule, and have hit a slight rough patch in recent games — dropping 4 out of their last 8 matchups, including a 7-goal route at the hands of the New Jersey Devils.

Much of the Rangers’ issue has been a lack of depth, with top-tier skaters like Chris Kreider accounting for over a quarter of the team’s goals with 42 on the season, and the team’s top-5 point-getters accounting for nearly 60% of the team’s 514 total points on the year.

Still, they’ve managed to ride their top-heavy roster to a likely position in the playoffs, which begin May 2.

That hasn’t stopped the odds makers from popular sportsbooks from throwing a dose of cold water on fans’ hopes of their first Stanley Cup title since 1994.

FanDuel Sportsbook

FanDuel Sportsbook, a popular betting site in New York State (which officially legalized online sports gambling earlier this year), currently lists the Rangers as +2400 favorites to win the Cup — meaning gamblers would win $24 for every $1 they wager.

Those odds tied with the St. Louis Blues for just the 11th best odds. The website lists the Colorado Avalanche as favorites to hoist the trophy, with +400 odds.

Caesars Sportsbook

Another popular site for online betters is Caesars Sportsbook, who gives the Rangers slightly better odds to be the last remaining team standing at +2000, which means gamblers would win $20 for every $1 wagered.

Caesars has the Rangers as the 10th most likely franchise to win the Cup.