With less than two weeks to go in the NHL regular season, Washington has clinched the Eastern Conference with 110 points and a 17 point lead over Pittsburgh. In the West, San Jose is back on top with 104 points and leads Chicago by three points and Phoenix by four.
One thing we know for sure is that the Capitals will be the number one seed in the East for the playoffs. In the Northeast division, Buffalo leads with 96 points and has a seven point advantage over Ottawa, who has 89 points. Pittsburgh has 95 points and a one point lead over New Jersey in the Atlantic division. Philadelphia, Boston, and Montreal are tied with 82 points, Atlanta has 80 points, and the New York Rangers have 78. All five teams are currently battling out for the last three playoff spots.
As mentioned, the Sharks lead over the Coyotes in the conference and the Pacific division is four points. The Blackhawks have a seven point lead over Nashville in the Central division. In the Northwest division, Vancouver has 96 points and a seven point lead over Colorado. Calgary is currently two points in back of the Avalanche for the final playoff spot.
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 4/1
The Capitals are currently 49-15-12, but have only two wins in regulation in their last 11 games. Last Thursday night they lost to Carolina 3-2 in an overtime shootout. Against Calgary, they were outscored 4-0 in the first period and ended up losing 5-3. On Tuesday night, in another game that went to overtime, they lost to Ottawa 5-4. Through 76 games, Alex Ovechkin is the leading goal scorer with 46 and Nicklas Backstrom leads in assists with 62. G JoseTheodore has a 2.76 GAA (goals against average) and Semyon Varlamov’s is 2.59.
San Jose Sharks Odds to win the Stanley Cup: Open 10/1 Current 9/2
The Sharks bounced back from a six game losing streak by winning four out of the last five. They got things rolling with a 4-1 win over the Wild, a 3-0 shutout of Dallas, and an important 4-2 win over Vancouver. They made it four straight by beating the Avalanche 4-3 last Sunday. The streak came to an end last night in an ugly 5-1 loss to the Stars. Through 77 games, Patrick Marleau is the leading goal scorer with 42 and Joe Thornton leads in assists with 66. G Evgeni Nabokov has a 2.44 GAA.
Chicago Blackhawks Odds to win the Stanley Cup: Open 12/1 Current 5/1
The Blackhawks are stumbling towards the playoffs, going 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. After a huge 2-0 win over the Coyotes last Tuesday, they proceeded to lose their next three to non playoff teams. They lost both ends of a home and home with the Blue Jackets; 8-3 and 4-2, and then dropped a 4-2 decision to St. Louis. They finally salvaged a win last night, shutting out the Wild 4-0. Through 76 games, Patrick Kane leads the team in goals with 28 and in assists with 54. Duncan Keith has 53 assists and Aniti Niemi’s GAA is 2.24.
Phoenix Coyotes Odds to win the Stanley Cup: Open 75/1 Current 15/1
Phoenix has been one of the hottest teams in the league since returning from the Olympic break, at one point winning nine straight games. They have cooled off a bit, going 2-3 in their last five, but still have a chance to nail down the #1 seed in the conference with a strong finish. They will look to bounce back on Saturday against the Oilers after losing to 4-1 to the Canucks and 2-1 to the Flames in their last two. Through 78 games, Lee Stempniak leads in goals with 27 and Wojtek Wolski leads in assists with 38. G Ilya Bryzgalov has a GAA of 2.31 and Jason Labarbera’s is 2.16.
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