Bruins Highlight Favorites To Win Conn Smythe Following Game 1 Win
The top of the board should not surprise Boston fans
Multiple Bruins are in line to win hardware after a historic season, and that might also include some postseason honors.
Boston's path to win its seventh Stanley Cup in franchise history kicked off Monday with a Game 1 win over the Florida Panthers. The victory came despite the team going into the game with a "little nerves" and without Patrice Bergeron.
The Bruins captain likely will win his sixth Selke Trophy, and Jim Montgomery and Linus Ullmark are the frontrunners to win the Jack Adams Award and Vezina Trophy, respectively. David Pastrnak is expected to finish second in Hart Trophy voting to Connor McDavid, but the winger might edge out the Edmonton Oilers star for the Conn Smythe Trophy, according to oddsmakers.
DraftKings Sportsbook and Caesars Sportsbooks have Pastrnak as the favorite at 6-1 and 7-1 to win the Conn Smythe, respectively. Teammate Ullmark is behind him at 8-1.
McDavid opened with the second-shortest odds across major sportsbooks prior to the Stanley Cup playoffs, according to Covers. But the Oilers lost Game 1 to the Los Angeles Kings in overtime Monday.
Boston has been the favorite to win the Stanley Cup for most of the 2022-23 NHL season, so it makes sense why two Bruins players are at the top of the board for the Conn Smythe, awarded to the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
It's also why Brad Marchand and Bergeron have gained steam. Marchand is 20-1 at DraftKings and Caesars to win the Conn Smythe, and if he continues to score goals like he did in Game 1, he might give Patstrnak and Ullmark, who also had strong playoff performances, some competition.
Bergeron is slightly behind at 25-1 on DraftKings and 26-1 on Caesars. This is more of a long shot since Bergeron's impact on the Bruins doesn't always translate to the stat sheet.
There hasn't been a ton of major movement after the opening games of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but the best time to bet on the Conn Smythe is during the first round before odds start shifting prior to the conference semifinals.
