There are five Canadian teams in this season’s NHL playoffs, giving fans plenty to cheer for nationwide. A couple of those teams are among the league’s top surprises.
BetCanada.com wanted to see which teams were the biggest surprises, based on preseason odds for points according to Hockey-Reference.com. We compared the preseason odds (an over/under wager at Canada sports betting sites on how many points a team would earn over the season) to final regular-season results. Then we ranked the top 10 most surprising teams based on largest positive difference.
Rank | Team | Over Difference |
1 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 23.5 |
2 | Washington Capitals | 21.5 |
3 | Winnipeg Jets | 19.5 |
4 | Calgary Flames | 15.5 |
5 | Montreal Canadiens | 13.5 |
6 | Vegas Golden Knights | 11.5 |
7 | Anaheim Ducks | 9.5 |
T8 | St. Louis Blues | 8.5 |
T8 | Los Angeles Kings | 8.5 |
10 | Ottawa Senators | 6.5 |
This analysis comes from BetCanada.com, where the best Canada sports betting promo codes can be found.
In the 2023-24 season, Montreal was last in the Atlantic Division with 76 points and their .463 points percentage was the 16th lowest in the franchise’s decorated history.
This season, the Canadiens turned things around with a 91-point season – not exactly the dominant Habs of old, but good enough to claim the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They are one of five teams to miss the playoffs last season and make it this time around, with the first round going on now. That total was also 13.5 points higher than the Montreal Canadiens betting odds of 77.5 on the over/under, fifth on our list of biggest surprises.
On March 29, the Canadiens were two points out of a playoff spot in the East. But a six-game winning streak sparked a 7-1-2 finish in the final 10 games, thrusting Montreal into a first-round series against the East-leading Washington Capitals.
The last team Montreal eliminated to grab that postseason berth was Columbus, The Blue Jackets, though they fell just short of the playoffs, were the top surprise related to preseason expectations, according to numbers at hockey-reference.com, which collects preseason over/under point totals from BetMGM.
The other big stunner among Canadian teams was the Ottawa Senators, who earned their first playoff berth since they reached the East final in 2017.
In the preseason, Ottawa Senators betting odds forecast an over/under of 90.5 points. They overshot that by 6.5 points, ranking then No. 10 on the list of teams that exceeded expectations.
Like Montreal, Ottawa had to close strong to gain a foothold in the postseason. As of March 4, the Senators were one point out of a playoff spot. But coach Travis Green’s team closed the season by going 15-5-2 in its final 22 games, winding up eight points ahead of Columbus and comfortably in the first East wild-card spot.
One game into their first-round “Battle of Ontario” series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Sens have +350 odds to win the series at bet365 Sportsbook. Ottawa’s Stanley Cup odds are +5000 with the operator, fifth-lowest among the 16 playoff teams, after the Sens lost Game 1. The Canadiens, who lost lost Game 1 to the Caps in overtime on Monday, are at +8000.
USA Today photo by Marc DesRosiers
Author
Jim Tomlin is an editor and writer for BetCanada.com specializing in sports, gambling, and the intersection of those industries. He has 30+ years of journalism experience and his work has appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition.
