Which NHL Team Has Best Chance Of Becoming First-Time Stanley Cup Winner?

Four NHL teams enter the post-season with aspirations of winning the Stanley Cup for the first time.

They include the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild and Utah Mammoth.

Hockey odds at the BetMGM online sportsbook for one of those teams to win the Stanley Cup are +400, which represents a 20 percent probability.

Which Teams Will Meet In The Stanley Cup Final?

The Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers look like they could go far again in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Gary Pearson predicts who will advance to the final for BetMGM.

Buffalo Sabres (+1600)

The NHL's fourth-best team in terms of points percentage (.667) has a scenario that resembles Minnesota's.

They've got their work cut out regardless of who they face in the first round.

Despite having the best record since Dec. 9 (39-9-4), coupled with an exceptional 16-6-4 record against Atlantic Division teams, it's a tough division. Even a date against the Senators is foreboding.

I hope I'm wrong. Sabres fans deserve a long, fruitful playoff run, especially as the team has the fifth-best offense (3.46 goals per game), the third-best home record (26-10-4), tied with the Avalanche, along with the fourth-best penalty kill (82.1 percent).

Ottawa Senators (+800)

I picked the Senators as my dark horse before the season began. At Christmas, I rued the selection, doubting their ability to dig themselves out of the deep hole they had dug.

It's amazing how much can change in a few months, with the Senators assembling the fourth-best record since Jan. 25 (20-6-4). Only the Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and Stars have a better points percentage in that timeframe.

It's a remarkable recovery considering the laundry list of grave issues the team faced, including Linus Ullmark's well-documented mental health challenges and the injuries to Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot.

Both blueline aces have returned with the Sens barely missing a beat. They have the fourth-most goals per game (3.60), allow the fewest goals against (2.37) and the fifth-best penalty kill (83.1 percent) in the aforementioned sample size.

Travis Green's team has also been in desperation mode for months, an ominous proposition for their first-round opponent, no matter who it is.

They are my pick to win the Stanley Cup for the first time.

By Gary Pearson, BetMGM

The Hockey News

This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 9:13 AM.