NHL Playoffs: Lord Stanley's Mug awaits

Sports never ceases to amaze. If at the beginning of the NHL season someone were to tell you that at the end of April the New York Islanders were among the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup you would have had them committed, or offer them some magic beans for sale. I can't imagine there was too much action on the NHL Futures markets before the season start. Any NHL Odds of making the Playoffs would have already been paid so the books don't seem too threatened.

Regardless, this is where we stand and as round 1 concludes and round 2 of the NHL playoffs is on the horizon - let's reexamine the land.

The NHL Playoffs

NHL Stanley Cups Odds are always available on William Hill, with live updates occuring in game

I would like to start with the St. Louis Blues who, other than the Islanders of course, are legitimately playing the best hockey in the league.

At +250 to win the Western Conference, they will first need to beat whomever emerges from the Nashville/ Dallas series in round 2. Of all the teams in the Western Conference they deserve most of the attention of online sports bettors.

The problem is, the books also know this and have slashed their odds considerably. That being said, series betting and per game betting the Blues next round feels like the profitable play.

And at +600 to win the Stanley Cup on William Hill, they look to have the easiest path to the Stanley Cup Final of any team. However, there is also no such thing as an easy road in the NHL Playoffs, the most grueling of all the 4 major sports.

See below the top sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:

At the top of the article I joked about the New York Islanders, however their first round sweep of the Penguins could result in the best storyline of the entire NHL season: Barry Trotz vs his old team.

I expect the Washington Capitals to get past the Hurricanes meaning that destiny will pit the defending Stanley Cup Champions against the team coached by the man who led them to the promiseland just last summer. Egos, reputations and legacies will all be at stake should that matchup go down.

The books have also decided on these two teams as well. For even though the Washington Capitals are not out of the first round, William Hill has them as the favorites to win the Eastern conference at around +275 and the Islanders at just slightly higher. Knowing full well that one of these teams won't even make the conference final, they have sucked every ounce of value out of these teams.

Advice: Stay away in round 2, reassess in round 3.

A pair of Game 7s: Get your popcorn ready

The Colombus Blue Jackets swept the President trophy winning Tampa Bay Lightning in embarassing fashion. But what that did for the Bracket is give home ice in round 2 to the winner of the Leafs/ Bruins game 7. Coming into the playoffs neither of those teams would have thought that to be an option. So now that the extra carrot of incentive has been dangled over the noses of these organizations, let's play a winner take all on Tuesday. Toronto has been the better team all series, and they'll take it to their original six foe.

PICK: The Toronto Maple Leafs +125 

Perennial playoff underperformers, the San Jose Sharks have battled back to force a game 7 on their home ice as well. I'll go out on a limb once again predict the Sharks to go on to round 2. The Sharks have too much at stake while Vegas is playing with house money from last season.

PICK: The San Jose Sharks -110 You can follow me on twitter @zahir_gilani

Category : Online Betting News

Tag : NHL , nhl betting , nhl odds , nhl playoff odds , nhl playoffs

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