We are a little over a third of the way into the 2009/2010 NHL season and have a pretty good picture of which teams will be competing for the Stanley Cup when the playoffs roll around in mid April. In the Eastern Conference, last year’s Cup champion, Pittsburgh currently leads the Atlantic division by two points over New Jersey. Buffalo has a six point advantage over Boston in the Northeast and Washington has an 11 point lead over Atlanta in the Southeast. The Capitals also lead the conference with 48 points.
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In the Western Conference, Chicago and Nashville are tied atop the Central division, six points ahead of Detroit. Colorado has a two point lead over Calgary in the Northwest and Los Angeles has a two point lead over San Jose in the Pacific. The Kings also lead the conference with 47 points.
The following are my top five teams in the league along with their current odds to win it all.
Washington Capitals Current Odds to win the Stanley Cup +575
The Capitals are currently 23-8-1 and have the most points in the NHL with 48. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Last Saturday they lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 in a game that they blew a two goal lead in the first period and gave up three unanswered goals in the third. In their next game against the Avalanche they weren’t about to commit the same mistake twice. This time they jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two and went on to win 6-1. Alex Ovechkin is the leading goal scorer with 28, Nicklas Backstrom leads in assists with 28, and Semyon Varlamov has a 2.21 GAA (goals against average).
Pittsburgh Penguins Current Odds to win the Stanley Cup + 425
The Penguins are currently 23-10-1 and have a total of 47 points. They are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. They has won their last three games including a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks, a 3-2 win over the Panthers, and a 6-1 win over the Flyers. In the game against Philadelphia they jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period. Jordan Staal scored two goals in the winning effort. Sidney Crosby is the team’s leading goal scorer with 21, Evgeni Malkin leads in assists with 23, and Marc-Andre Fleury has a 2.38 GAA.
Chicago Blackhawks Current Odds to win the Stanley Cup +526
The Blackhawks are currently 21-8-3 and have a total of 45 points. They are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. They have won four out of their last five including back to back shutouts in their last two games. In a 4-0 win over the Lightning, G Antti Niemi stopped 18 shots to blank Tampa Bay. Against the Blues, Cristobal Huet made 27 saves in the 3-0 win. Patrick Kane leads the team in both goals; 10 and assists; 23. Huet’s GAA is 2.09.
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