Stanley Cup betting trends: Panthers roaring as underdogs - ESPN

Through two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, each of the top three favorites entering the postseason have been eliminated. The Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche fell in the first round, while the Edmonton Oilers were eliminated in Round 2.

The upsets have also been reflected in a game-by-game basis. Underdogs are 39-31 this postseason, up 23.25 units. It would be the fifth time in the past six seasons that underdogs have been profitable. In that timeframe, underdogs are up 58.43 units.

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Road teams are up 16.61 units this postseason and are now up 26.19 units over the past five non-bubble postseasons. However, that trend has not reached the Carolina Hurricanes, who are 5-1 at home this postseason (+3.57 units) and 12-2 over the past two postseasons (+8.97 units).

The Hurricanes now enter the conference finals as +230 favorites. Those are the longest odds for the Stanley Cup favorite entering the conference finals since the 2005 lockout. They look to avoid the same fate as the Bruins and Maple Leafs, who entered each of the previous two rounds as title favorites, only to fall to the Panthers.

The Panthers' Stanley Cup odds dipped as long as 150-1 when they trailed the Bruins three games to one in the first round. They were 35-1 entering the playoffs, which would be by far the longest Stanley Cup title odds entering the playoffs in the past 35 seasons. The Los Angeles Kings were 22-1 entering the 2012 playoffs, which are currently the longest odds