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The NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoff start Wednesday night, with 16 teams fighting for hockey’s ultimate prize. On Monday, we took a look at each team’s odds of reaching and winning the Stanley Cup Finals — today we examine the favorites in all eight first-round playoff series. Higher seeds are favored to advance in six of the eight first-round pairings, with the closest series expected to be Red Wings-Predators.

Here are your 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Series odds:

Eastern Conference

#5 Philadelphia Flyers +190 vs. #4 Pittsburgh Penguins -230 (Series Starts Wednesday)
#6 New Jersey Devils -200 vs. #3 Florida Panthers +170 (Starts Friday)
#7 Washington Capitals +185 vs. #2 Boston Bruins -225 (Starts Thursday)
#8 Ottawa Senators +190 vs. #1 New York Rangers -230 (Starts Thursday)

Western Conference

#5 Detroit Red Wings -105 vs. #4 Nashville Predators -115 (Starts Wednesday)
#6 Chicago Blackhawks -130 vs. #3 Phoenix Coyotes +110 (Starts Thursday)
#7 San Jose Sharks +140 vs. #2 St. Louis Blues -160 (Starts Thursday)
#8 Los Angeles Kings +190 vs. #1 Vancouver Canucks -230 (Starts Wednesday)

The biggest favorites are the Pittsburgh Penguins, the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, and the top seeds in each conference, the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. The New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks are the two teams favored to win their series despite not having home-ice advantage — which seems reasonable since each finished the regular season with better records than their first-round opponents.