2010 NHL Eastern Conference Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds | Sportsbookbuzz.com

2010 NHL Eastern Conference Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

When betting on the NHL and who is going to win the Eastern Conference this season, now is the time to check out the NHL future odds and bet on the team you want to go all the way to the Stanley Cup.

Out in the NHL Eastern Conference, the favorite is the Washington Capitals +180 and with their roster mostly unchanged from the team that scored 313 goals last season and took home the Presidents’ Trophy with the most regular season points. Alex Ovechkin is still one of the most exciting and productive player in the NHL, and Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Alexander Semin are the foundation of a experienced and strong supporting cast. If the Capitals can avoid significant injury, they should be in the mix for the top spot in the Eastern Conference come April. Also in the Eastern Conference is a great rush to the middle of the pack. After the top 3 or 4 teams, the conference is full with mediocrity. There will not be much separation between the last four teams into the playoffs and the last four to five teams out.

Here’s a look at the 15 teams that make up the NHL Eastern Conference:

2010 NHL Atlantic Season Previews

2010 New Jersey Devils Season Preview

It took a while, but the New Jersey Devils were eventually able to sign winger Ilya Kovalchuk to a term contract heading into this season. Having the point-a-game potential of Kovalchuk in their arsenal should help New Jersey rise to the top of the loaded Atlantic Division, but not without heavy competition from both Penguins and Flyers. Having Famer Martin Brodeur in between the pipes never hurts either.

New Jersey Devils Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +700 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

New Jersey Devils 2010 Season Preview – New Jersey Devils 2010 Season Schedule

2010 New York Islanders Season Preview

Beyond s2nd standout forward John Tavares, the New York Islanders are not good. They have very few pieces on their squad that point to anything but a very disappointing year on the Island. Mark Streit is the best they have to offer on defense, Up front Kyle Okposo has some potential, but beyond that, there is not much hope for this team. It’s going to be a while before the Islanders return to their glory days of the 1980’s.

New York Islanders Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +4500 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

New York Islanders 2010 Season Preview – New York Islanders 2010 Season Schedule

2010 New York Rangers Season Preview

The New York Rangers had a remained relatively quiet in the off season, except from making the huge splash in the free agency market that they tend to make so often. Instead, the Rangers made some quality small moves to fill out their roster, adding proven goaltender Martin Biron to take some of the workload off star goalie Henrik Lunqvist, signing the towering Derek Boogaard to a 4-year deal, and adding sniper Alexander Frolov. The Rangers missed the playoffs by a single point last season, but in ’10 they won’t be on the outside looking in.

New York Rangers Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +1800 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

New York Rangers 2010 Season Preview – New York Rangers 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Philadelphia Flyers Season Preview

After the Flyers improbable come-from-behind series victory in the 2nd round of last year’s playoffs. Philadelphia went on to eventually fall to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Cup Finals, but the run they made through the playoffs was nothing short of a miracle, as a #7 seed. This year, they enter with plenty of talent on the front end, but they’ll hope that the hands of their two goaltenders remain hot, as Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher are set to try and make another deep playoff run. Can they do it again? We are not so sure, but the Flyers got just as good a chance as anyone else in the Atlantic.

Philadelphia Flyers Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +900 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Philadelphia Flyers 2010 Season Preview – Philadelphia Flyers 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Pittsburgh Penguins Season Preview

The Pittsburgh Penguins have one of the top forward duos in the league, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin able to light up the scoreboard each and every night. Their supporting cast took a bit of a hit in the off-season however, with Alex Ponikarovsky, Bill Guerin, Jordan Leopold, and Sergei Gonchar, among others, hitting the road and changing sweaters for the upcoming year. The Pen’s biggest change though comes by way of their new home arena, the Consol Energy Center, as they say good-bye to Mellon Arena. There’s no doubt Pittsburgh will want to bring a lot of playoff hockey to their new confines.

Pittsburgh Penguins Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +275 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Pittsburgh Penguins 2010 Season Preview – Pittsburgh Penguins 2010 Season Schedule

2010 NHL Northeast Season Previews

2010 Boston Bruins Season Preview

There’s no doubt that the loss of Marc Savard to start the season will surely hurt the Bruins offense, especially their power play production, but hopefully the additions of rookie Tyler Seguin and winger Nathan Horton can mitigate that loss until Savvy can return to the lineup. The defense will still be rock solid and Boston probably have the best goaltending tandem in the entire league. If this team can stay healthy, there’s no reason why they can’t rank atop the Northeast Division.

Boston Bruins Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +900 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Boston Bruins 2010 Season Preview – Boston Bruins 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Buffalo Sabres Season Preview

Last year’s Northeast Division winners, the Buffalo Sabres were ousted in the first round by the Boston Bruins, after a regular season for the record books for their netminder Ryan Miller. Miller will have to carry this Sabres team yet again if they have any real hopes of a deep playoff run, as the offense just isn’t that solid overall. They’ll need top scorer Thomas Vanek to elevate his game even further, reigning Calder Cup trophy winner Tyler Myers to continue his development in his 2nd pro season, and new blue line additions Jordan Leopold and Shaone Morrisonn to be an upgrade over the departing Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman. This is a playoff-caliber team, but we don’t see them being better than Boston this year to top the division.

Buffalo Sabres Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +1400 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Buffalo Sabres 2010 Season Previews – Buffalo Sabres 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Montreal Canadiens Season Preview

On the heels of an improbable run to the Eastern Conference Finals a season ago, the Montreal Canadiens come into the 2010-11 season with more questions than answers. Can Carey Price elevate his game to be a legitimate goalie, with no Jaroslav Halak to fall back on? And who is going to put the puck in the net for a team that ranked 26th on offense last season? We feel like this team will have a let down year. Sure they’ll win some games, but we think come springtime the will be on the outside of the East’s top 8.

Montreal Canadiens Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +1400 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Montreal Canadiens 2010 Season Preview – Montreal Canadiens 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Ottawa Senators Season Preview

The Ottawa Senators surprised hockey fans last season by earning a playoff berth, as high as the 5th seed. But then Senators enter this season with several issues, such as health and goaltending. 2/3 of their top forward line are coming injuries, with Daniel Alfredsson recovering from hernia surgery and Milan Michalek coming off knee surgery. In goal, the Ottawa hope that Pascal Leclaire can rise to the occasion. If not Brian Elliott, who got a lot of action last season while Leclaire struggled. They added Sergei Gonchar to the roster, but the loss of physical blueliner Anton Volchenkov is going to hurt Ottawa more. Ottawa slips down the standings, back to mediocrity this season.

Ottawa Senators Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +1800 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Ottawa Senators 2010 Season Preview – Ottawa Senators 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Toronto Maple Leafs Season Preview

Toronto’s Stanley Cup drought stands at 43 years now, and reaches at least 44 this year. Toronta hasn’t made the playoffs since before the lockout, and they’ve still got a long way to go before they even sniff the playoffs. They have some nice pieces in place, with top line forwards Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak, newly acquired Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong, and solid defensemen Tomas Kaberle, Dion Phaneuf, and Mike Komisarek. But questions in goal, with a past-his-prime Jean-Sebastien Giguere teaming up with young, unproven Jonas Gustavsson, plus a lack of overall offensive depth, have signs pointing to another lackluster, playoff-less season for the Maple Leafs. This team is heading in the right direction though, if that’s worth anything.

Toronto Maple Leafs Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +2500 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Toronto Maple Leafs 2010 Season Preview – Toronto Maple Leafs 2010 Season Schedule

2010 NHL Southeast Season Previews

2010 Atlanta Thrashers Season Preview

The Atlanta Thrashers took on a handful of former Chicago Blackhawks in the off-season, bringing in Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Brent Sopel in a three-team, nine-player deal. They also grabbed Andrew Ladd from the ‘Hawks, swapping prospect Ivan Vishnevskiy to the Windy City. So they have four Cup winners on their roster. This team’s roster is really ugly, without Ilya Kovalchuk to bury the puck. They have two promising youngsters in Evander Kane and Niclas Bergfors, but they will not be enough this year.

Atlanta Thrashers Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +4500 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Atlanta Thrashers 2010 Season Preview – Atlanta Thrashers 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Carolina Hurricanes Season Preview

The youth movement is in full effect in, with veterans Ray Whitney (to Phoenix) and Rod Brind’Amour (retirement) missing from the Carolina roster for the first time in a long time. The Hurricanes started last season with a brutal 5-17-5 record through the first two months, but pulled themselves back to respectability by seasons end, even peeking their heads into the playoff picture for a short while. It will be interesting to see if these young players can withstand another swoon like that. We think the Hurricanes might be in for a season full of growing pains, unless stars like Eric Staal and goalie Cam Ward can have career years.

Carolina Hurricanes Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +1800 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Carolina Hurricanes 2010 Season Preview – Carolina Hurricanes 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Florida Panthers Season Preview

The Florida Panthers are hungry for a playoff spot, not having been there in about a decade now. The Panthers are rebuilding their team once again, as new GM Dale Tallon flips the roster to bring in new blood. He somehow sees something positive in Dennis Wideman, acquiring him and two draft picks from Boston for Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell. The only impressive addition made by the Panthers in the off-season was their 3rd overall draft choice, defenseman Erik Gudbranson. Loads of question marks up and down this Florida lineup and has no chance contending for a playoff spot this season. If not for the Thrashers, and maybe if not for an above-average Tomas Vokoun in goal, the Panthers would be the Southeast Division’s cellar dwellers, for sure.

Florida Panthers Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +4500 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Florida Panthers 2010 Season Preview – Florida Panthers 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Tampa Bay Lightning Season Preview

There is a lot to like about the Tampa Bay Ligtning this year, and it starts with new GM Steve Yzerman. Who has added some great pieces to an already talented batch of players, bringing in Pavel Kubina, goalie Dan Ellis, and former Flyer Simon Gagne to compliment the likes of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Ryan Malone, and emerging superstar Steven Stamkos. Goaltending will certainly be Tampa’s major concern, with Ellis being brought in to help incumbent Mike Smith man the Tampa crease. This Lightning team might be another season or two away from rising to the top ranks of the East, but they are headed in the right direction.

Tampa Bay Lightning Odds to Win Eastern Conference: +1400 to win the Stanley Cup at BetUS

Tampa Bay Lightning 2010 Season Preview – Tampa Bay Lightning 2010 Season Schedule

2010 Washington Capitals Season Preview

With yet another early playoff exit last season, the Caps are quickly becoming the “San Jose Sharks of the East.” Ovechkin, the two-time defending league MVP, has all the talent around him to put together a legitimate Cup run, they just have to put up or shut up when it comes to the playoffs. They’re in a cupcake division which should help them contend for another Presidents Cup trophy, but another postseason flop might lead to major off-season roster turnover heading into 2011-12.