The six-month, 82-game long regular National Hockey League schedule can be counted on to serve its purpose – handicappers do not normally have to run their finger far down the odds chart to find the eventual Stanley Cup champion. On rare occasions there are unlikely post-season runs – the 2012 Los Angeles Kings remain the go-to example for that – but typically the teams that play best in the regular season continue to dominate in post-season play, where every series is a full seven games from the drop of the first playoff puck.
The 2017 Stanley Cup chase looks to be no different, especially in the Eastern Division. The Washington Capitals were hockey’s best team, skating away with the President’s Trophy for most regular season points for the second straight year. The Caps excelled in every facet of the game – second in goals scored and first in goals against, third on the power play and sixth on the penalty kill. Washington is unsurprisingly a solid 9/4 favorite to win the Eastern Division at bet365.
【2016-2017 NHL Conference Outright Winner Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: April 12, 2:00 a.m. (GMT)
Latest Odds: NHL (courtesy of bet365)
The Capitals accumulated hockey’s best team stats which isn’t a surprise as they enjoy the game’s best roster. The Capitals can skate four lines deep without a drop-off in effectiveness. The scoring production of superstar captain Alex Ovechkin was down during the regular season but Washington apologists can hope he was just saving his firepower for the “second season” since the team has not advanced past the second round of the playoffs since the Russian winger came into the league in 2006. The mid-season acquisition of Kevin Shattenkirk has also locked down the defense. Washington opens its Stanley Cup run against the Toronto Maple Leafs, led by top rookie goal scorer Auston Matthews, as a 10/21 favorite in the opening game.
Last year Washington was derailed in the playoffs by Eastern Conference foe Pittsburgh, who went on to capture Lord Stanley’s cup. The Penguins are once again a team to be reckoned with in their title defense, winning 50 games in the regular season. Sidney Crosby was atop the league table in goal scoring and the Pens are listed at 18/5 to win the Eastern Conference.
The Penguins will clash with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the opening round, a close third favorite at 4/1 in the East. While the regular season is a good predictor of the top choices to win the Stanley Cup, performance in the final 20-25 games is often a good indicator as to how a team will perform in the playoffs. That factor does not favor the Blue Jackets who suffered a scoring drought for most of March. But Columbus has the season’s top goalie in the pipes in Sergei Bobrovsky and that will go a long way to neutralizing the Pittsburgh pop.
The 2015-2016 season marked the first time in the NHL’s expanded playoff era that no Canadian team qualified for post-season play. This season five of the seven teams from the Great White North are back in the title chase. Of the quintet the Montreal Canadiens, winners of the Atlantic Division, are generally conceded the best chance at the Stanley Cup, thanks in large part to goaltender Carey Price. Montreal opens up the playoffs with the New York Rangers, who have their own standout in goal, Henrik Lundqvist. Both are listed at 7/1 to come out of the Eastern Conference.
If you are talking about rejuvenated Canadian squads you have to start with the Edmonton Oilers who will be making their first playoff appearance since 2006. The transformation can be laid directly at the skates of 20-year old wunderkind Connor McDavid who led the league in scoring with 100 points and pushed the Oilers to 47 regular season wins. If McDavid can carry Edmonton all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, the feat will reward Oiler backers at 6/1 to win the Western Conference. McDavid’s Oilers open with last year’s Western Conference champs, the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks, 17/2 in the West, have suffered key injuries in the second half of the season and will enter the playoffs as underdogs to the surging Oilers.
The Chicago Blackhawks, seeking a fourth Stanley Cup in eight years have been tabbed the favorites in the West at 2/1. Chicago has been working young players into its line rotation this season but Patrick Kane still heads a familiar and seasoned championship core in Chicago.
The Anaheim Ducks enter the playoffs on hockey’s best roll with an 11-0-3 mark over the past 14 games. Meanwhile their first round opponents, the Calgary Flames, posted a 6-7-0 record over a nearly identical stretch. Calgary is generally conceded to have more talent but the hot team is posted as a 5/8 favorite in the series opener. To win the West, Anaheim is 7/1 and Calgary 11/1.
For punters on the prowl for an intriguing upset pick, consider the long shot Nashville Predators, 14/1 in the West. In Ryan Ellis, P.K. Subban, Mattias Ekholm and Roman Josi, the Predators have an elite defensive core, critical in the tightly-contested playoffs. Nashville also posted a 35-28 record in games decided in regulation, a .556 winning percentage. They were miserable in tie-breaker mini-games, however, winning only six of 18. But those tie-breakers and shootouts are not employed in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Backers of the Predators will find out soon enough if their team is indeed better than its overall record – Nashville has drawn Chicago in the opening round and the Blackhawks are a 5/9 favorite to skate away with the win.
【2016-2017 NHL 1st Round Playoffs Winner Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: April 12, 2:00 a.m. (GMT)
