The 2018-19 NHL regular season has wrapped up and the Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to begin Wednesday, April 10.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals (+1400) rank in the middle of the pack while every team seeks to take down the Tampa Bay Lightning (+195) following a 128-point season.

Outright picks to win the Stanley Cup

Odds provided by FanDuel; for a full-set of today's sports betting odds, access them at USA TODAY Sports.

Tampa Bay Lightning (+195)

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The Lightning has shown no sign of weakness while steamrolling its competition through the first 82 games but at that lowly +195, those without a higher number on a stashed-away futures ticket should be looking elsewhere and hoping for a miracle upset despite the fact Tampa Bay won the President's Trophy by a staggering 21 points and outscored its competition by a league-best 103 goals.

Boston Bruins (+950)

The Boston Bruins (+950) come in as the second seed in the Atlantic Division with a first-round matchup teed up against the rival Toronto Maple Leafs. They finished with 107 points to tie the Calgary Flames for the second-most behind the Lightning. LW Brad Marchand's 100 points helped back them to a goal differential of plus-44, while the goaltending tandem of Tuukka Rask and a rejuvenated Jaroslav Halak compiled the league's third-best goals against average.

Las Vegas Golden Knights (+1600)

The Vegas Golden Knights (+1600) are back to the playoffs for the second year of their existence after going all the way to the cup final last year. James Neal and David Perron left in the offseason, but Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny, and Mark Stone have been added throughout the past year and have the team poised for another deep postseason run. They draw the San Jose Sharks (+1200) in the first round, in what may be one of the most exciting matchups of the entire playoffs.

St. Louis Blues

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Firing head coach Mike Yeo on Nov. 20 and replacing him with Craig Berube completely turned the St. Louis Blues' season. Since then, they've gone 38-19-6 backed by star forwards Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko, and breakout rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington to grab the third spot in the Central Division. They head into the playoffs with +2000 odds and will start things off against a Winnipeg Jets team that's gone just 14-14-3 since Feb. 2.

NHL Playoff Conference Championships

Sports bettors who thoroughly believe in the Lightning can opt to back it at +100 to win the seemingly easier Eastern Conference. It's better than half the odds of them winning the cup and helps to eliminate the risk of injury or upset by the end of the postseason.

The Pittsburgh Penguins (+1100) have a more appealing number to win the conference than the cup (+1700). With D Kris Letang and C Evgeni Malkin back in the lineup, and G Matt Murray owning a .924 save percentage since the All-Star break, the winners of two of the past three titles are heating up in time once again.

Without the Lightning to deal with, the odds to win the Western Conference are much tighter throughout. The Sharks (+600) are the only team other than the Colorado Avalanche whose outright odds don't drop by more than half.

Follow Esten on Twitter @EstenMcLaren

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