The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are about to kick off with the regular season now over. From the 16 teams that clinched a ticket to the postseason, only one will be left standing in the end. Let’s take a look at some of the odds of a select few teams in our preview below.
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Betting Preview Including Favorites, Sleepers, and Long Shots to Win the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
Favorites: Nashville Predators / Tampa Bay Lightning
The Predators, who are priced at +450 to win it all, came awfully short of bringing Lord Stanley to Nashville a year ago, when they lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fast forward to today, the Preds are headed to the playoffs as President Trophy winners after finishing the regular season with 117 points (53-18-11). P.K. Subban and his team do not have that many weaknesses, as the Predators are seventh in the NHL in scoring with 3.2 goals per game and 12th in power play percentage with a 21.2 percent success rate. As good as they are finding the back of the net, the Preds are even better on defense. With Pekka Rinne in front of the goal and a bunch of talented blue liners, Nashville owns the second-best goals against average (2.5) and are sixth in penalty killing with 81.9 percent success rate against the man advantage.
Speaking of offense, the Lightning are bringing in their ice-melting scoring ways to the postseason. Tampa Bay boasts of the league’s highest scoring average per game (3.5) and a deadly special team that scores 23.9 percent of the time during power plays. Their defense is not as great as Nashville but isn’t shabby, either. Tampa Bay allows 2.9 goals per game — 13th in the NHL The Bolts are +550 to take home the Cup.
Sleeper: Washington Capitals
The logic here is that if the Capitals couldn’t win it all in past seasons in which they were clearly a stronger team, why would they this year? That’s a good argument, but then again, we’re talking about the Capitals, whose lower expectations this time around could benefit the team. Minus the gargantuan pressure on their shoulders that the Capitals used to have every playoffs, Alex Ovechkin and company can put in more focus in their quest to win the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup. Ovechkin has bounced back from a “down” scoring year in 2017 by netting an NHL-best 49 goals this season. Ovi and the Caps enter the playoffs with an average of 3.1 goals per game, while their defense surrenders 2.9 per contest. The Caps are +1,250 to have a Stanley Cup parade downtown.
Long Shot: Philadelphia Flyers
The city of Philadelphia may be feeling a little bit spoiled right now with the recent triumphs of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Villanova Wildcats in the NFL and in the NCAA, respectively, so we’re allowing some confidence to flow freely down the veins of Philly sports fans. But can the Flyers add more to the city’s windfall of success? Odds say that the Flyers are +3,000 to win the Stanley Cup.
Writer’s Prediction
Surprise! Ovechkin finally gets his ring, as the Washington Capitals win the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Finals.
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