The road to the Stanley Cup begins when the NHL returns from their All-Star break. The best players in the game today were celebrated this past weekend, but the grind toward Lord Stanley resumes on Monday.
Entering the unofficial second half of the season, the Washington Capitals own the best record in the NHL. Entering Monday, Ovechkin’s Caps are sitting pretty at the top of the leaderboard with a record of 33-11-5 with 71 points.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 27th, 1:30 A.M. (EST)
Online bookmaker 10Bet has the Tampa Bay Lightning at +750 to win the Stanley Cup.
The Boston Bruins are only one point behind the Capitals, but Washington also has two games in hand. The B’s are 29-10-12 this season. Boston has been terrific in front of their hometown crowd. At home, Boston is 17-2-9.
The defending Stanley Cup Champions are near the top of the standings as well. There was no Stanley Cup hangover for the St. Louis Blues. The hosts of the All-Star festivities, the Blues are 30-11-8 with 68 points.
Washington, Boston and St. Louis are safe picks to win the Stanley Cup, but they aren’t listed as favorites (according to 10Bet). 10Bet has the Tampa Bay Lightning (29-15-4) listed at +750 to win the Stanley Cup. Granted, the Capitals (+850), Bruins (+800) and Blues (+900) aren’t far off, but, interestingly, Tampa Bay are the favorites.
Last season, the Blues were dead last in the NHL in January. Does this mean a team like the Detroit Red Wings (+75000) or Anaheim Ducks (+9000) could make their way into the Cup Playoffs and win?
St. Louis’ season last year may be an anomaly, but it will be interesting to see if a powerhouse will walk away champs, or an underdog swoops in and claims the Cup.
