3 long shots to win the Stanley Cup

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It's easy to point to teams like the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning as Stanley Cup favorites, but the margins are razor-thin heading into an unprecedented NHL postseason.

If there was ever a time to throw a few darts in the futures market, it's now.

Carolina Hurricanes (+4000)

Not having Dougie Hamilton or Brett Pesce for a difficult play-in series with the New York Rangers isn't ideal for the Hurricanes, but Carolina is loaded defensively after acquiring Brady Skjei and Sami Vatanen at the deadline and can absorb losses in the back end. Should the Canes get by the Rangers, the returns of Hamilton and Pesce will give them an unrivaled blue line.

Carolina also has the talent up front to match. The Hurricanes strike a great balance with the young, dynamic top line of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Teuvo Teravainen, and a veteran trio in Justin Williams, Jordan Staal, and Nino Niederreiter. Martin Necas, Warren Foegele, Ryan Dzingel, and Vincent Trocheck also provide excellent depth scoring. There's not a single hole on this roster.

That's exemplified by the Canes leading the NHL this season in expected goals for and high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes while ranking third in shots for percentage. They also excel on special teams - Carolina has the fourth-best penalty kill and the eighth-ranked power play - and with a bit of help from Petr Mrazek, there's no one they can't beat.

Columbus Blue Jackets (+6000)

Don't sleep on a Blue Jackets team that is among the league's best when healthy.

Oliver Bjorkstrand, Cam Atkinson, and Alexander Texier are back for Columbus, which had the most man-games lost in the regular season. Josh Anderson will also return soon to help boost a deep forward group, while a healthy Seth Jones will solidify the Jackets' defense, which had the fewest expected goals against per 60 minutes this season.

Columbus also possesses one of the league's most formidable goaltending tandems in Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo, with either capable of getting hot and leading the team on a deep run. It was because of them that the Jackets led the NHL in five-on-five save percentage prior to Jones' injury in February.

This team is also built for the playoffs. Columbus plays stout defensive hockey, is aggressive on the forecheck, and is both deep and physical throughout the roster. We saw just how much the postseason suits the Jackets when they swept the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning last year; now, there's no excuse for being caught off guard by Columbus.

Florida Panthers (+6000)

I'm not nearly as sold on the Panthers as I am the Hurricanes and Blue Jackets, but maybe I should be. Florida has all the makings of a Cup team: a pair of superstars up front, skill and experience on the blue line, a two-time Vezina recipient in net, and a three-time Stanley Cup winner behind the bench.

Few teams will be more grateful for this second chance than the Panthers, who couldn't put it all together this season despite high expectations. This club is built to take advantage of a clean slate.

Sergei Bobrovsky's career-worst statistical season in the NHL held this team back. He's an incredibly accomplished goaltender, though, and entirely capable of taking over a series as he did in Columbus' sweep of the Lightning last year, when he posted a .932 save percentage. If he gets hot, the Panthers have both the scoring and coaching required to make a deep postseason run.

(Odds source: theScore Bet)

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.