Wild, Jets, Stars, Kings, Avs, Canucks, Golden Knights and Oilers lead the West’s best

The start of the hockey season in December means the regular season is 30% complete. Two surprise teams lead the Western Conference and Atlantic Division, with the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets playing the best hockey for nearly a third of the season. Still, the Wild and Jets remain behind the Western Conference preseason favorites in current Stanley Cup odds.

The Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights remain the preferred favorites to do better and continue to be serious Stanley Cup contenders in the West. If the playoffs began today, Colorado would be out of the West’s eight-team field, and last year’s Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers would clinch the final spot thanks to a recent three-game winning streak.

Important Western Conference games in December

The key games to watch in December between the Western Conference challengers, which also feature matchday specials when betting, include:

• December 3rd – Edmonton in Vegas, Vancouver in Minnesota
• December 4th – Dallas at LA Kings
• December 6th – Dallas in Vegas
• December 7th – Minnesota at LA Kings
• December 8th – Calgary at Dallas
• December 12 – Edmonton in Minnesota, Vegas in Winnipeg
• December 14th – Vegas in Edmonton
• December 15th – Vegas, Minnesota
• December 16th – Colorado in Vancouver
• December 19th – Vancouver in Vegas
• December 21st – Minnesota at Winnipeg
• December 27 – Minnesota at Dallas
• December 29th – Calgary in Vegas
• December 31st – Winnipeg, Colorado

If you’re thinking about future betting or trying to figure out which teams could advance further or benefit from the upcoming schedule, the Winnipeg Jets appear to have the weakest schedule in the West in December. Winnipeg plays eight games against losing teams. The Jets’ toughest games are at home, where they are 9-1 this season. These are against Boston, Vegas and Minnesota with only two away games against winning teams on December 23rd in Toronto and on New Year’s Eve in Colorado.

Other things to watch, bet on and note include the Los Angeles Kings playing seven straight road games from December 10-22, including against top teams New Jersey and New York Rangers after their trip to Long Island. The road trip ends in Washington, which scores the most points in the Eastern Conference with 35 points, just behind the NJ Devils. The Devils are two of the most up-and-coming and surprising teams along with the Wild, both of whom missed the playoffs last season.

The Colorado Avalanche host a 5-game road trip through the East from December 3rd to 10th. But nine of the Avs’ 13 games in December come against losing teams.

The Edmonton Oilers will play nine of their 13 games at home in December. The Dallas Stars have six home games beginning Dec. 8, with the final three coming against top teams in the East.

The Calgary Flames have lost four straight games in December, including their Dec. 3 home game against Columbus. The Flames are tied for 7th place in the West with the Oilers and will finish the month in Las Vegas and at home against Vancouver on New Year’s Eve. Calgary will not play Edmonton, Winnipeg or Colorado in December.

Oilers-Golden Knights

Two Western Conference leaders face off in Las Vegas on December 3rd as the Edmonton Oilers take the fort to battle the Vegas Golden Knights. Although Vegas (+114) leads the Pacific Division, it is an underdog on home ice compared to Edmonton (-137). The overall target number is over/under 6.5. Player props remain popular, as do same-game parlays.

The Oilers have won four of their last five regular-season visits to Las Vegas. The two teams will play again in Edmonton on December 14th and then again on April 1st.

Home underdogs have won 62 of 152 games this season (40.8%), but the top teams in the standings have won as underdogs on their home ice at a rate of nearly 50%.

Jack Eichel, the Golden Knights’ top center, has the third-most in the NHL with 36 points (8 goals) and leads the league with 28 assists. The Oilers’ leading scorers, Leon Draisaitl (32 points) and Connor McDavid (31 points), once again lead Edmonton, with Draisaitl’s 17 goals tied for second-most in the National Hockey League.

Oilers forward Zach Hyman has missed the last four games with an undisclosed injury and is close to a return to live action, although unlikely against Vegas. Hyman scored a career-high 54 goals last season.

Golden Knights captain Mark Stone has been sidelined for the past month with a lower-body injury. He scored 6 goals and 15 assists in 13 games and could return to live action in the next 2-3 games. As he returned to practice yesterday, Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy addressed Stone’s status at the morning press conference.

“It’s a morning run, so not a lot of contact. We’ll see how he progresses and get an update on how he’s making contact. He’s obviously another step closer (to returning).”

After a very slow start to the season, Edmonton has a record of 7-2-1 in its last 10 games, including three straight wins in Las Vegas following Saturday night’s 4-1 victory in Colorado. Vegas has 15 wins and 33 points in 25 games and Edmonton has 13 wins and 28 points in 24 games, tied with Calgary for the final playoff spot and seventh-most points in the Western Conference.

The two leaders in the Western Conference are Minnesota and Winnipeg in the Central Division. Each team has 36 points, although the Wild have played one game less (24). Winnipeg leads the entire NHL with 18 wins and a league-best 9-1 on home ice.

Vegas started the season 8-0 at home before suffering a 4-3 loss with a 4-3 win over league leader Winnipeg. The Jets played without top goalie Hellebuyck that evening. The Golden Knights’ toughest stretch of the calendar year begins tonight against Edmonton and Vegas travels to Anaheim tomorrow. The West’s toughest teams then head to Dallas at home and three road games in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Minnesota before heading home to face last year’s Pacific Division champion Vancouver Canucks on December 19th.

In the Western Conference, the Avalanche and Oilers had the highest wins of the season with over/under 106.5 and 104.5 points, followed by the Stars with 103.5. The Golden Knights were at 99.5. At the start of the season, Edmonton was the most backed team to win the Stanley Cup through both bets and handles (money) at leading online sportsbooks.

Stanley Cup Odds 2024-25

NHL futures are subject to change and odds adjust as the season progresses. The Odds of winning the Stanley Cup updated on December 3rd courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

• +800: Edmonton Oilers
• +900: Dallas Stars
• +1000: Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers
• +1200: New York Rangers
• +1300: Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils
• +1400: Vegas Golden Knights
• +1800: Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning
• +2100: Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota Wild
• +3000: Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, Boston Bruins
• +4000: Ottawa Senators
• +4100: Washington Capitals
• +5500: New York Islanders
• +6000: Pittsburgh Penguins
• +7000: Buffalo Sabers, St. Louis Blues
• +7500: Utah Hockey Club
• +8500: Seattle Kraken, Detroit Red Wings
• +12000: Calgary Flames
• +14000: Philadelphia Flyers
• +22000: Chicago Black Hawks
• +23000: Montreal Canadiens
• +40000: Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks

The chances of winning the Stanley Cup haven’t changed all that much since the start of the season. Note that despite having the most points in the NHL through December 2nd, both the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild have the 10th and 12th lowest odds of winning the Cup, respectively. As a result, bettors still haven’t become more attuned to these two teams’ chances in the playoffs, even though their odds have dropped from +2600 to +2500 (25/1) since the start of the season.

The Golden Knights’ inaugural season eight years ago was special Against all odds on the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Their story was an inspiration and Vegas was a valiant winner by winning the 2023 Stanley Cup in their sixth season since joining the National Hockey League.

Now VGK is once again showing their strength as they approach their toughest stretch of the season in 2024. Key games in the West begin Tuesday night when the stars and lights shine for the Oilers-Golden Knights game at the Fortress in Las Vegas. The chances are good that there will be more highlight goals.

You can bet on it.

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