Canucks underdogs against defending-champion Blues: PlayNow

Photo: BIV

With the Canucks back in the playoff for the first time in five years, the team is an underdog against the defending champion St. Louis Blues.

The BC Lottery Corporation’s PlayNow.com has placed the Canucks’ odds at defeating the Blues in the upcoming best-of-seven at 187/100, compared to the Blues more favourable 11/25 odds.

That means a $100 wager on the Canucks would result in a win of $187, while a $25 bet on the Blues would give a $36 win.

But the further the Canucks get into the playoffs, the better their odds are. 

At one point at the start of the 2019-20 NHL season, the Canucks began at 39/1 odds to win the Stanley Cup. Going into their play-in series versus the Minnesota Wild, their odds were at 30/1. After dispatching the Wild in four games their current odds of winning the Cup are 15/1.

Meanwhile, one last bit of intrigue plays out today off the ice, as the NHL will award the first overall selection in the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft to one of the eight eliminated teams of the play-in round. With an equal 12.5 per cent chance among eight different teams, the fortunes of a franchise can change in a single draw, and PlayNow.com is allowing bettors to wager on who will win the right to select young phenom Alexis Lafreniere.