Stanley Cup Betting Odds – What Crosby Can Do Ovechkin Can Do Better

Heading into a two and a half week break for the Olympics, the NHL playoff picture is starting to take shape and teams are starting to put themselves into or out of contender conversations. Sportsbook reviewers know the trade deadline is March 3 and with a roster freeze until the end of February beginning at the end of the week, there will be a lot of time to analyze rosters, so before that happens here are some contender picks.

Stanley Cup Betting Odds: Washington is favored

• Washington is coming off a 12 game winning streak after a 6-5 overtime loss to Montreal
• San Jose has never been to the Stanley Cup finals while Washington has one time; in 1998
• Those who are sports betting know the two Stanley Cup finalists from the past two seasons, Pittsburgh and Detroit, are 15 and 23 points out of first place in their respective Conferences.

Stanley Cup Betting Odds: Who Will Win East

It would be hard to imagine anyone in the East knocking off the Washington Capitals this year. They currently hold a 14 point lead over the conference and have won 17 of their last 19; with one of the losses coming in overtime. Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Ovechkin are both in the top three in points and have been getting solid goaltending by Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov. Scoring and defense are two keys to winning in the playoffs and the Capitals have both.

Stanley Cup Betting Odds: Who Will Win West

San Jose is playing solidly in the tough Western conference right now and has opened up a 4 point lead over Chicago. The Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley line has been almost unstoppable with 85 goals and 204 points between the three of them. Evgeni Nabokov is having his best statistical season with a .927 save percentage and allowing just 2.25 goals against and is second in the league with 33 wins in 51 games; Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick leads with 34 in 54 games. While the West is a much tighter conference, San Jose is leading and will get home-ice advantage; a place they have only lost five times in regulation this year.

Stanley Cup Betting Odds: Championship Favorites

Those who have done NHL betting will remember that in their two meetings this year, both the Capitals and Sharks won at home with San Jose winning 5-2 and Washington 4-1. Both teams have great first lines and solid complementary lines that can win games for their respected teams. San Jose does have an edge in goaltending with Nabokov however Theodore is playing some of his best hockey since winning the Vezina Trophy in 2002.

Stanley Cup Betting Odds: Championship Sleepers

While they are in second place, the New Jersey Devils are 14 points behind the Capitals which allow them to be a sleeper. Going 3-5-2 in their last 10, the Devils are slumping however with Ilya Kovalchuk joining the team and Patrick Elias coming off of injury, they should make a major push after the Olympic break. They have also allowed a league low 137 goals this year which would be needed for any chance of beating the high scoring Capitals.

Los Angeles Kings are fifth in the West and have won nine of their last 10 games. Having a large amount of cap space and plan on using it at the trade deadline and the Kings could be a legitimate Cup contender for the first time since Gretzky captained the team. They are very young but with veterans like Ryan Smyth, Rob Scuderi and Jarret Stoll bring Stanley Cup finals experience to the team, it could be the right mix of youth and knowledge.

Stanley Cup Betting Odds: Outlook & Pick

If the Sharks and Capitals meet in the playoffs, there are two things to remember; Ovechkin has never been out of the Conference Finals but does love the spotlight and “Golden” Joe Thornton loses a lot of his luster in the playoffs. If the Sharks want a chance they will have to hope he comes through this time.

DON’s Pick: Washington Capitals