As the NHL gets ready to go on a two week hiatus (Feb 16th-Feb 28th) for the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Washington has the highest number of points in the Eastern Conference at 89, which is 14 points more than New Jersey, the current #2 seed. In the Western Conference, San Jose is on top by four points with 87.
Click Here for Expert NHL Hockey Picks.
The Capitals lead the Southeast division by 23 points over Tampa Bay. In the Northeast, Buffalo and Ottawa are currently tied with 72 points, eight ahead of Montreal. New Jersey has 75 points and is clinging to a one point lead over Pittsburgh in the Atlantic division.
The Sharks have an eight point lead over Phoenix in the Pacific division. Chicago has opened up a 14 lead over Nashville in the Central division. Things are heating up in the Northwest division as Colorado leads Vancouver by two points and Calgary by seven.
The following are my top four teams in the league along with their opening and current odds to win it all.
Washington Capitals Odds to win the Stanley Cup: Open 10/1 Current 9/2
The Capitals are currently 41-12-7 with a total of 89 points. They are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games and won 14 straight before losing to Montreal 5-6 in overtime last night. In a 6-5 win over the Rangers last Thursday night, they scored two unanswered goals in the third period. In a 5-2 win over Atlanta, they outscored the Thrashers 3-1 in the third period. Against Pittsburgh, Alex Ovechkin’s hat trick helped them overcome a 4-1 deficit to pull out a 5-4 win in overtime for number 14. Ovechkin is the leading goal scorer with 42 and Nicklas Backstrom leads in assists with 49. G Jose Theodore has a 2.94 GAA (goals against average).
San Jose Sharks Odds to win the Stanley Cup: Open 10/1 Current 4/1
The Sharks are currently 39-12-9 with a total of 87 points. They are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Last Thursday the Sharks beat St. Louis 4-2 and on Saturday they beat Nashville 4-3. They made it three is a row with a 3-2 win over Toronto with Phil Kessel scoring the game winner in the third. The streak came to an end when they were shutout 3-0 by Columbus. Patrick Marleau is the leading goal scorer with 38 and Joe Thornton leads the way with 59 assists. G Evgeni Nabokov has a 2.25 GAA.
Chicago Blackhawks Odds to win the Stanley Cup: Open 12/1 Current 5/1
The Blackhawks are currently 35-15-5 with a total of 83 points. They are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games and have won their last two. Last Friday they lost a 2-1 overtime shootout against Phoenix after scoring the first goal of the game in the first period. Against St.Louis, they won 2-1 after scoring the first two goals of the game in the first period. In their last game, they won a 4-3 overtime shootout against Dallas. Patrick Kane leads the team in goals with 24 and in is tied with Duncan Keith with 40 assists. G Chistobal Huet’s GAA is 2.29.
Pittsburgh Penguins Odds to win the Stanley Cup: Open 7/1 Current 5/1
The Penguins are currently 36-22-2 with a total of 74 points. They are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. Last Saturday they dropped a 5-3 decision to Montreal after giving up two third period goals. They lost to Washington 5-4 in overtime after blowing a 4-1 lead. The losing streak ended at two after a 3-1 win over the N.Y. Islanders. Chris Kunitz scored twice in the win. Sidney Crosby leads the team in goals with 39. Evgeni Malkin leads in assists with 42 and G Mark-Andre Fluery has a 2.64 GAA.
Click Here for Expert NHL Hockey Picks.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.