As we close the book on the 2009 portion of the NHL season, the top teams in the league have already began to position themselves to make a run at winning the Stanley Cup when the playoffs start up in April. With around 40 games already played, the New Jersey Devils are leading the Eastern Conference and the San Jose Sharks are on top in the Western Conference each having 57 points. Looking at the East, the Devils have a four point lead over Pittsburgh in the Atlantic division. In the Northeast, Buffalo has a five point lead over Boston with Ottawa sitting eight points out of first. The Washington Capitals have opened up a 14 point lead over Atlanta and Tampa Bay in the Southeast.
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Turning to the West, Chicago is leading the Central division by six points over Nashville. In the Northwest division Colorado has a three point lead over Calgary and a five point lead over Vancouver. The Sharks lead Phoenix in the Pacific division by four points with Los Angeles currently 10 points back.
The following are my top four teams in the league along with their opening and current odds to win it all.
New Jersey Devils Odds to Win the Stanley Cup: Open 15/1 Current 15/1
The Devils are currently 28-9-1 with a total of 57 points. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Last Monday Zach Parise scored two goals as they beat the Thrashers 3-2. In a huge game against division rival Pittsburgh, Martin Broduer stopped all 32 shots to shut the Penguins for the second time this year in the 2-0 win. Parise leads the team in goals with 17 and assists with 25. Brodeur has a GAA of 2.09(goals against average).
San Jose Sharks Odds to win the Stanley Cup: Open 10/1 Current 11/2
The Sharks are currently 25-8-7 with a total of 57 points. They are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. San Jose is currently on a six game winning streak and in their last two games beat the Coyotes in a 3-2 shootout and the Capitals 5-2. In the impressive win over Washington they built a 3-0 lead after two periods and two of the goals came on penalty shots. Patrick Marleau is the leading goal scorer with 25, Joe Thornton leads the way with 44 assists. Evgeni Nabokov has a 2.29 GAA.
Chicago Blackhawks Odds to win the Stanley Cup: Open 12/1 Current 5/1
The Blackhawks are currently 26-10-3 with a total of 55 points. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games. Against the Predators they scored four goals in the third period including the game winner by Patrick Kane with 43 seconds left in regulation to pull out a 5-4 win. In their last game they were shutout in the third period dropping a 5-4 decision to the Stars. Kane leads the team in goals with 17 and Duncan Keith lead in assists with 29. Christobal Huet’s GAA is 2.13.
Washington Capitals Odds to win the Stanley Cup: Open 10/1 Current 6/1
The Capitals are currently 24-10-6 with a total of 54 points. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games. After a big 4-1 over New Jersey last Saturday, Washington has been struggling a bit losing their last two. They dropped a 6-3 decision to the Hurricanes after falling behind 3-0. In their next game they spotted the Sharks a 3-0 advantage, losing 5-2. Alex Ovechkin is the leading goal scorer with 26, Nicklas Backstrom leads in assists with 31. Semyon Varlamov has a 2.21 GAA .
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