NHL Betting Update: Toronto Maple Leafs Open Season Strong
The NHL betting season is a week old and the biggest surprise to start the 2010-11 campaign has to be the Toronto Maple Leafs who hit the ice strong at 3-0.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the best team in the National Hockey League.
Welcome to the first week of the NHL regular season, where anything is possible. The Maple Leafs are a perfect 3-0 after three games, giving them the best record in the league, and they also lead the NHL in goal differential at plus-6. The Leafs probably won’t end the year in first place, but there’s no doubt GM Brian Burke has his team pointed in the right direction.
After beating the Montreal Canadiens (+142) and Ottawa Senators (+138) at home, Toronto took it up a notch Wednesday night and downed the Pittsburgh Penguins (–157) 4-3 at the new Consol Energy Center. That’s the best start for the Leafs in 11 years.
So does that make the Leafs the new Stanley Cup favorites? Not according to the betting odds at press time, where Toronto remains mired at 60-1. It’s the Penguins (1-3-0) at the top of the list at 6-1, tied as co-favorites with the Washington Capitals (3-1-0). The defending Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks (1-2-1), have slipped from 5-1 at the open to 7-1. And it looks like we might have a goaltender controversy brewing in the Windy City.
Actually, the Hawks were embroiled in controversy the moment they let Antti Niemi go and signed Marty Turco for $1.35 million less. Turco posted an .896 save percentage during the first two games as Chicago lost to the Colorado Avalanche (+117) on the road in overtime and the Detroit Red Wings (+139) in the home opener. Then, much to everyone’s surprise, back-up Corey Crawford was given the next start against the Buffalo Sabres – in an away game, no less. Crawford stopped 32 of 35 shots as the Hawks won 4-3 as +114 underdogs.
The surprises continued Wednesday night when Crawford got another start at home against the Nashville Predators. He couldn’t get the win this time, as the Predators (+161) scored a power-play goal in the last minute to win 3-2. But Crawford still has a .919 save percentage in his two starts. Coach Joel Quenneville may very well end up sticking with the hot hand in net as the Hawks, their roster depleted from last year because of salary restrictions, try to defend their championship.
Incumbent goalies just don’t have the power they used to. Check out the Philadelphia Flyers: They went with 22-year-old rookie Sergei Bobrovsky in their season opener instead of veteran Brian Boucher, and Bobrovksy delivered 29 saves in a 3-2 win over the aforementioned Penguins (–167 at home). Boucher lost the next game 2-1 in overtime to the St. Louis Blues (–127 at home), then it was Bobrovksy winning the home opener 4-2 over the Avalanche (+141). It looks like Philadelphia might do just fine while Michael Leighton recovers from back surgery.
It’s time to start wondering about those Penguins, though. They’ve played three games at their new home and come up dry every time – the other loss was to the Canadiens (+178), who scored twice with under three minutes remaining to beat Pittsburgh 3-2. Marc-Andre Fleury was the goalie in all three losses and did not play well in any of them. But neither did most of his teammates.
“We’ll start winning games when we start making better decisions with the puck,” defenseman Paul Martin told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review after Wednesday’s loss to the Leafs.
If you’ve got access to the NHL Network, or if you’re lucky enough to be in person at the Wells Fargo Center, you’ll see the Penguins and Flyers go at it Saturday night (7:00 p.m. ET). The Flyers may be one of the second-tier Cup favorites at 14-1, but they’re also the defending Eastern Conference champs. And if you happened to bet them on the puckline, they’re the most profitable team in the league at 3.90 units in the black. That’ll even pay for your beer at the concession stand.
The NHL betting season is a week old and the biggest surprise to start the 2010-11 campaign has to be the Toronto Maple Leafs who hit the ice strong at 3-0.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the best team in the National Hockey League.
Welcome to the first week of the NHL regular season, where anything is possible. The Maple Leafs are a perfect 3-0 after three games, giving them the best record in the league, and they also lead the NHL in goal differential at plus-6. The Leafs probably won’t end the year in first place, but there’s no doubt GM Brian Burke has his team pointed in the right direction.
After beating the Montreal Canadiens (+142) and Ottawa Senators (+138) at home, Toronto took it up a notch Wednesday night and downed the Pittsburgh Penguins (–157) 4-3 at the new Consol Energy Center. That’s the best start for the Leafs in 11 years.
So does that make the Leafs the new Stanley Cup favorites? Not according to the betting odds at press time, where Toronto remains mired at 60-1. It’s the Penguins (1-3-0) at the top of the list at 6-1, tied as co-favorites with the Washington Capitals (3-1-0). The defending Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks (1-2-1), have slipped from 5-1 at the open to 7-1. And it looks like we might have a goaltender controversy brewing in the Windy City.
Actually, the Hawks were embroiled in controversy the moment they let Antti Niemi go and signed Marty Turco for $1.35 million less. Turco posted an .896 save percentage during the first two games as Chicago lost to the Colorado Avalanche (+117) on the road in overtime and the Detroit Red Wings (+139) in the home opener. Then, much to everyone’s surprise, back-up Corey Crawford was given the next start against the Buffalo Sabres – in an away game, no less. Crawford stopped 32 of 35 shots as the Hawks won 4-3 as +114 underdogs.
The surprises continued Wednesday night when Crawford got another start at home against the Nashville Predators. He couldn’t get the win this time, as the Predators (+161) scored a power-play goal in the last minute to win 3-2. But Crawford still has a .919 save percentage in his two starts. Coach Joel Quenneville may very well end up sticking with the hot hand in net as the Hawks, their roster depleted from last year because of salary restrictions, try to defend their championship.
Incumbent goalies just don’t have the power they used to. Check out the Philadelphia Flyers: They went with 22-year-old rookie Sergei Bobrovsky in their season opener instead of veteran Brian Boucher, and Bobrovksy delivered 29 saves in a 3-2 win over the aforementioned Penguins (–167 at home). Boucher lost the next game 2-1 in overtime to the St. Louis Blues (–127 at home), then it was Bobrovksy winning the home opener 4-2 over the Avalanche (+141). It looks like Philadelphia might do just fine while Michael Leighton recovers from back surgery.
It’s time to start wondering about those Penguins, though. They’ve played three games at their new home and come up dry every time – the other loss was to the Canadiens (+178), who scored twice with under three minutes remaining to beat Pittsburgh 3-2. Marc-Andre Fleury was the goalie in all three losses and did not play well in any of them. But neither did most of his teammates.
“We’ll start winning games when we start making better decisions with the puck,” defenseman Paul Martin told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review after Wednesday’s loss to the Leafs.
If you’ve got access to the NHL Network, or if you’re lucky enough to be in person at the Wells Fargo Center, you’ll see the Penguins and Flyers go at it Saturday night (7:00 p.m. ET). The Flyers may be one of the second-tier Cup favorites at 14-1, but they’re also the defending Eastern Conference champs. And if you happened to bet them on the puckline, they’re the most profitable team in the league at 3.90 units in the black. That’ll even pay for your beer at the concession stand.
