Stanley Cup Odds in Iowa

How to bet on the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Stanley Cup playoffs are as exciting as hockey gets, and you can up the ante here in the Hawkeye State betting on NHL postseason games at Iowa online sportsbooks.

NHL futures markets let you bet on your favorites to win the Stanley Cup all year long. Then, when the puck finally drops on the Stanley Cup playoffs, you have the option to bet on each round, each game and everything that surrounds NHL postseason hockey.

Find out how to do all of that, including a look at the current odds and how to sign up at an online sportsbook in our complete guide to betting on the Stanley Cup in Iowa.

2022 Stanley Cup odds 

We’re down to the final two — the Colorado Avalanche vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning. Once the series ends, Iowa bettors should get a look at the odds for every NHL club to win the 2023 Stanley Cup:

How to bet on the Stanley Cup online in Iowa

Iowa sportsbook apps make betting on the Stanley Cup easy. First, you have to sign up for a betting account. Just click on one of our links to the sportsbook of your choice. That’ll take you to its website.

You can sign up on the website or download its app and sign up there. Either way, you’ll need personal information like your current email and the last four digits of your Social Security number. You may also need a bonus code. These are also listed here on PlayIA.com, and entering one during sign-up will make sure you are eligible for any bonuses.

Next, you need to deposit funds in your account, which you can do using your debit card, online banking and cash at affiliated casinos and retail sportsbooks.

Finally, you can browse through the NHL futures markets and place bets on your favorites to win it all, all year long. Plus, come playoff time, you’ll find even more Stanley Cup betting markets, allowing you to place bets on games, series and more, all the way through the Stanley Cup Final.

Popular bets for Stanley Cup

Betting on the NHL Stanley Cup involves placing one of the following wagers:

  • Futures: Bet on teams to make the playoffs, win their division, win their conference or win the Stanley Cup.
  • Single-game bets:
    • Moneylines: Pick game-winners.
    • Puck lines: Pick winners with a puck line set by oddsmakers factored into the final score.
    • Totals: Bet on whether the final score in a game will be more or less than a line set by oddsmakers.
  • Series bets: Bet on a team to win a series, including series spread bets.
  • Props: Bet on teams and players to achieve certain statistical milestones throughout a game, series or the entire Stanley Cup playoffs.
  • Live betting: Traditional game lines, period-by-period betting and an increased number of props available during games at odds that change with the action on the ice.

How Stanley Cup betting works

Placing an NHL futures bet means locking in the currently posted odds. Those odds may change throughout the season or playoffs based on a team’s chances of winning, but your potential payout remains the same because you locked in the currently posted Stanley Cup betting odds when you placed the bet.

The odds will almost always have a plus sign in front of them, which indicates that if you win, you’ll get paid that amount, plus your bet back, for every $100 you bet. If odds have a minus sign in front, that indicates that if you win, you’ll get paid $100, plus your bet back, for every multiple of the number you bet.

The same is true for single-game bets, series bets, props and live bets, which are all also booked at currently posted positive (for underdogs) or negative (for favorites) odds, which you lock in when you place a bet.

General sportsbook rules for Stanley Cup betting

Sportsbooks will publish rules for how they handle hockey bets, and these will pertain to Stanley Cup betting. Check with the sportsbook you bet with to see how it handles certain situations. Most do so according to these basic hockey betting rules:

  • Official NHL statistics and results govern all betting.
  • Overtime goals count for player props and totals bets.
  • Player movement, team movement, team name changes or changes in season length do not void futures.
  • Betting on a team to win a conference is betting on the team to make the Stanley Cup Final, not lead the regular-season conference standings.

Stanley Cup betting tips and strategies

Normally, you can look at recent trends to help guide your betting, but recent trends in the Stanley Cup playoffs won’t tell you much.

Over the past 10 seasons, teams from the Western Conference and Eastern Conference each have five Stanley Cups. One trend that is telling is division winners not making the Stanley Cup Final. In fact, only 16 of the 42 teams in the past 21 playoffs won their division during the regular season.

That tells you the Stanley Cup playoffs are a completely different animal from the regular season, and basing futures bets on regular-season records isn’t necessarily a good idea. Here are three more Stanley Cup betting tips you might want to consider:

  • Remember NHL Playoff Parity is Real: The NHL’s top regular-season teams can get eliminated during the first round, and teams that didn’t even make the playoffs the year before can win the Stanley Cup. If you’re betting on the Stanley Cup playoffs, remember that parity is more real in the NHL than most sports, and anything can happen.
  • Don’t Forget to Use Stats: You may have heard that sports betting is a battle for information. This is even more true in the NHL and the Stanley Cup playoffs, where parity means small edges and tight lines. Good research involves a deep dive into the stats and letting that analysis guide your picks.
  • Bet Situationally: Look closely at the injury report, scheduling, and home and away records. Bet based on situations because even the best teams lose in the Stanley Cup playoffs quite often when key players are out or they’re on the road in must-win situations for the other side.

2023 Stanley Cup contenders

The Zamboni wasn’t parked in storage for 2022 when Caesars in Iowa posted odds to win the Stanley Cup in 2023:

  • Colorado Avalanche (+600 at Caesars): The Avs had home-ice advantage in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final and Caesars sees another strong season in 2022-23.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning (+800 at Caesars): The Bolts reached the Stanley Cup Final in three straight years. Could they make it four in 2022-23?
  • A six-pack of contenders at Caesars for the 2023 Stanley Cup:
    • +1000 — Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers
    • +1200 — Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers

Past 10 Stanley Cup results

Here’s a look at the results of the Stanley Cup Final over the past decade:

  • 2021: Tampa Bay Lightning over Montreal Canadiens 4-1
  • 2020: Tampa Bay Lightning over Dallas Stars, 4-2
  • 2019: Louis Blues over Boston Bruins, 4-3
  • 2018: Washington Capitals over Vegas Golden Knights, 4-1
  • 2017: Pittsburgh Penguins over Nashville Predators, 4-2
  • 2016: Pittsburgh Penguins over San Jose Sharks, 4-2
  • 2015: Chicago Blackhawks over Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2
  • 2014: Los Angeles Kings over New York Rangers, 4-1
  • 2013: Chicago Blackhawks over Boston Bruins, 4-2
  • 2012: Los Angeles Kings over New Jersey Devils, 4-2

Best Iowa bars to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs

Perhaps the best part about the launch of online and mobile sports betting in Iowa is that you can use your smartphone to turn your favorite sports bar into a sportsbook where you can watch NHL playoff games, place bets and enjoy the local fare.

Here’s a look at three great places to do just that in and around Iowa’s biggest city, Des Moines:

The Ridgemont

  • 7460 Hickman Road, Windsor Heights
  • 515-276-0129

Reddit users swear this place is a Des Moines hockey bar, or as close as it gets.

Fazio’s University Tap

  • 7500 University Blvd., Clive
  • 515-393-8317

Google calls this a karaoke bar, but it’ll put hockey games on if you ask.

Buzzard Billy’s

  • 615 Third St., Des Moines
  • 515-244-2899

A hockey bar by virtue of the fact that the Iowa Wild AHL team plays across the street.