Are Wings, Penguins destined to meet again?
The puck drops on the NHL's second season this Wednesday night at 7 p.m. with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins host the Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena. This year's playoffs promise to be as wide open as many in recent memory, and even though the Washington Capitals are heavy favorites, they aren't necessarily the team to beat. Just what are the odds the Pens and Red Wings meet a third straight year?
The Stanley Cup playoffs are set to begin on Wednesday night, and for bettors that means one thing: Get ready for some upsets.
Unlike in the NBA where one of the top two or three teams in the standings is essentially guaranteed the championship, the NHL postseason is wide open. The proof is in the pudding.
Since the league started awarding the Presidents’ Trophy to the club with the most points in the regular season in 1985, the winner of the award has hoisted the Stanley Cup only seven times. In the last six years, the best team during the year has gone on to lift the Cup only once. Twice during that span, the No. 1 overall seed was stunned in the first round by the No. 8 seed in their respective conference.
Rushing out to bet the first place Washington Capitals as +300 favorites to win the Cup? You probably shouldn’t, even if Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals are certainly in the conversation. There’s better value elsewhere and history tells us the top team in the standings is unlikely to be left standing in June.
Washington opens against the Montreal Canadiens, and it should have no trouble with the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed. The Canadiens backed into the playoffs by losing eight of their last 11 games against the moneyline.
The Pittsburgh Penguins (+450 to win the Stanley Cup) begin defense of their title as the fourth seed in the East, and they’ll take on the Ottawa Senators in the first round.
The Senators are without Alex Kovalev (knee) for the duration of the postseason, and that’ll hurt their chances in a bigger way than you’d think. With Kovalev gone, Pittsburgh is able to key on Ottawa’s top line almost exclusively.
First in the league in goals against per game (2.3), the New Jersey Devils (+750) are in tough in their East first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers took five of six against the Devils this season, including all three games at the Wachovia Center. Philadelphia’s success against New Jersey makes it worth a look despite it starting third-stringer Brian Boucher between the pipes.
The Boston Bruins figure to have a shot at a first-round upset against the Buffalo Sabres (+1600), who sport the likely Vezina Trophy winner in Ryan Miller. Boston took four of six against the moneyline from Buffalo this season, and won five of seven rolling into the playoffs.
That said, the Bruins are dead last in goals per game (2.4), and are without first-line center Marc Savard (concussion).
Over in the Western Conference, the top-seeded San Jose Sharks (+450) look to prove their worth to sharp bettors against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Sharks finished with the best record in the West, but they also did so last season before falling to the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. The good news is San Jose has won eight of its last 10, while the Avalanche have dropped 10 of 13.
San Jose earned the top spot when the Chicago Blackhawks (+400) fell 3-2 in overtime as -170 home chalk to the fifth seed Detroit Red Wings (+800) on Sunday afternoon. The Blackhawks match up in the opening round against the Nashville Predators, who have played ‘under’ in nine of their last 12 games (8-4 SU).
If Antti Niemi holds up in nets, Chicago should be able to exploit Nashville’s special teams. The Predators rank 24th on the power play (16.4%) and 28th on the penalty kill (77.1%).
The Vancouver Canucks (+750) have home-ice advantage as the third seed in the West against the Los Angeles Kings, but the six seed isn’t much of an underdog. The Kings finished only two points behind the Canucks in the standings.
Vancouver is in a dogfight against Los Angeles, but it could be worse. Enter the Phoenix Coyotes (+750), who drew the streaking Detroit Red Wings in the opening round.
The Red Wings dealt with injuries for the bulk of the first half, but they’ve been lights out since the Olympic break. With Jimmy Howard replacing Chris Osgood as the No. 1 goaltender in Hockeytown, Detroit is 16-5 against the moneyline in its last 21 games.
The puck drops on the NHL's second season this Wednesday night at 7 p.m. with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins host the Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena. This year's playoffs promise to be as wide open as many in recent memory, and even though the Washington Capitals are heavy favorites, they aren't necessarily the team to beat. Just what are the odds the Pens and Red Wings meet a third straight year?
The Stanley Cup playoffs are set to begin on Wednesday night, and for bettors that means one thing: Get ready for some upsets.
Unlike in the NBA where one of the top two or three teams in the standings is essentially guaranteed the championship, the NHL postseason is wide open. The proof is in the pudding.
Since the league started awarding the Presidents’ Trophy to the club with the most points in the regular season in 1985, the winner of the award has hoisted the Stanley Cup only seven times. In the last six years, the best team during the year has gone on to lift the Cup only once. Twice during that span, the No. 1 overall seed was stunned in the first round by the No. 8 seed in their respective conference.
Rushing out to bet the first place Washington Capitals as +300 favorites to win the Cup? You probably shouldn’t, even if Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals are certainly in the conversation. There’s better value elsewhere and history tells us the top team in the standings is unlikely to be left standing in June.
Washington opens against the Montreal Canadiens, and it should have no trouble with the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed. The Canadiens backed into the playoffs by losing eight of their last 11 games against the moneyline.
The Pittsburgh Penguins (+450 to win the Stanley Cup) begin defense of their title as the fourth seed in the East, and they’ll take on the Ottawa Senators in the first round.
The Senators are without Alex Kovalev (knee) for the duration of the postseason, and that’ll hurt their chances in a bigger way than you’d think. With Kovalev gone, Pittsburgh is able to key on Ottawa’s top line almost exclusively.
First in the league in goals against per game (2.3), the New Jersey Devils (+750) are in tough in their East first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers took five of six against the Devils this season, including all three games at the Wachovia Center. Philadelphia’s success against New Jersey makes it worth a look despite it starting third-stringer Brian Boucher between the pipes.
The Boston Bruins figure to have a shot at a first-round upset against the Buffalo Sabres (+1600), who sport the likely Vezina Trophy winner in Ryan Miller. Boston took four of six against the moneyline from Buffalo this season, and won five of seven rolling into the playoffs.
That said, the Bruins are dead last in goals per game (2.4), and are without first-line center Marc Savard (concussion).
Over in the Western Conference, the top-seeded San Jose Sharks (+450) look to prove their worth to sharp bettors against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Sharks finished with the best record in the West, but they also did so last season before falling to the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. The good news is San Jose has won eight of its last 10, while the Avalanche have dropped 10 of 13.
San Jose earned the top spot when the Chicago Blackhawks (+400) fell 3-2 in overtime as -170 home chalk to the fifth seed Detroit Red Wings (+800) on Sunday afternoon. The Blackhawks match up in the opening round against the Nashville Predators, who have played ‘under’ in nine of their last 12 games (8-4 SU).
If Antti Niemi holds up in nets, Chicago should be able to exploit Nashville’s special teams. The Predators rank 24th on the power play (16.4%) and 28th on the penalty kill (77.1%).
The Vancouver Canucks (+750) have home-ice advantage as the third seed in the West against the Los Angeles Kings, but the six seed isn’t much of an underdog. The Kings finished only two points behind the Canucks in the standings.
Vancouver is in a dogfight against Los Angeles, but it could be worse. Enter the Phoenix Coyotes (+750), who drew the streaking Detroit Red Wings in the opening round.
The Red Wings dealt with injuries for the bulk of the first half, but they’ve been lights out since the Olympic break. With Jimmy Howard replacing Chris Osgood as the No. 1 goaltender in Hockeytown, Detroit is 16-5 against the moneyline in its last 21 games.
