The Boston Bruins are currently 40-8-5 and have a significant lead over the Carolina Hurricanes, who are the second-best team in the NHL. Boston goes to the finish line with 132 points and 62 wins. Both scores will tie the current record in each category. It was a level of Boston dominance that we rarely see in this league. Boston is a worthy +450 favorite to win the Stanley Cup.
That being said, it has been nine seasons since the league’s top regular-season team won the Stanley Cup. The last team to dominate the season was the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. This Lightning team lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs.
Today I’m reviewing two teams, one in each conference, that the current value of the bet on their current numbers. This may be the last opportunity to get two of the league’s best teams at somewhat inflated prices.
Rangers were red hot
On Dec. 3, the New York Rangers lost to a -285 home favorite against the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2. The loss was their fifth loss in six games, and New York had just 11 wins in their first 26 games. After making the Eastern Conference Finals last season, it was an unexpected and disappointing start for the Rangers. Some in the team thought that coach Gerard Gallant was in a hot spot.
However, since that loss, the Rangers’ season has gone through a full 180 games. In 28 games since then, the Rangers are 21-4-3. They have scored points in 24 of their last 28 games and have won six in a row. Only the Edmonton Oilers have scored more goals per game in the last 2.5 months. Only the Bruins and Dallas Stars concede fewer goals in the same period.
Having won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalkeeper in the league last season, Igor Shesterkin has shown himself to be rather mediocre this season. He ranks 14th in save percentage, 11th in goals against average, and 10th in goals saved over expected. In a way, that makes me more optimistic about the Rangers. Last year, it became clear that this team has succeeded against the background of the goalkeeper’s historical performance. This year they are winning, and although Shesterkin was firm, he does not alone lead them to victories. If Shesterkin gets hot in the playoffs, which we know he’s capable of, it will make them even more dangerous.
The team is full of talent. Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad are two of the league’s top-scoring strikers. Chris Kreider won’t score 50 goals like last season, but 30-35 isn’t that low. Vladimir Tarasenko just got out of St. Louis and still has some breakthrough ability. Vincent Trochek and Philip Chitil form a solid duo in the center behind Zibanejad. Adam Fox currently has the second best chance of winning the Norris Trophy, behind only Erik Karlsson.
Despite all this, the Rangers still have +750 to win the Eastern Conference. They are 14-to-1 to win the Stanley Cup. At this price, I still buy. The Rangers’ most likely opponent in the first round seems to be the New Jersey Devils, who I think are the typical young team that needs to take a few hits and lose a playoff series to a more experienced group before than they take a step forward. future seasons. Carolina is likely waiting in the second round, the team that the Rangers eliminated last season.
Last season, New York led 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals and had a two-goal lead in Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They were very close to knocking the defending champions down and forcing their way to the Stanley Cup Finals. I think they build on that experience and heartbreak and have a very good chance of going even further this season.
And what about the West?
The top six scoring teams in the NHL are currently in the Eastern Conference. According to BetMGM, The East are -155 favorites to win the Stanley Cup. over the Western Conference. Of course, the elephant in the room when it comes to the Western Conference is the Colorado Avalanche.
The current Stanley Cup winners have yet to do something this season. The common belief is that they’ll figure it out over the next two months and become dangerous during the playoffs, but as we saw in the NFL last season, that’s not always the case. Teams like Green Bay and Tampa Bay were constantly hyped by the betting market as the public waited for a spark that never came. Colorado remains the betting favorite to win the Western Conference with +250. and they have the third best odds of winning the Stanley Cup +700.
However, if we’re thinking about Avalanche’s disappearance, why not take a look at the current best team in the conference? Even though they are currently number one in the West, The Dallas Stars are only in fourth place with +600 odds to win the conference. Dallas has the best goal difference in the west and the third-best goal difference in the league. Dallas has many key factors that could lead to playoff success.
Only the Boston Bruins have conceded fewer goals per game than the Stars this season. Jake Oettinger currently ranks third in save percentage, third in goals against average, and seventh in goals saved over expected. He has fourth best odds of winning the Vezina Trophy +850. A goaltender can steal a series very easily, and Ettinger nearly did so in the first round against Calgary last season.
The Stars have a legitimate superstar in Jason Robertson, who has 71 points in 55 games. Rupe Hintz also scores more points per game. Just as importantly, Jamie Benn has somehow turned back the clock half a decade and is having his highest-scoring season since 2018. Miro Heiskanen is one of the best two-way defenders in the sport.
This is the team from Dallas that made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2020, losing to Tampa Bay in a bubble. Much of this core is still in place. They have shown they can make deep breakthroughs in the postseason. Peter DeBoer is in his first season off the Stars bench and it’s an interesting proposition. In their first season with New Jersey in 2012, the Devils reached the Stanley Cup Finals. In 2015, DeBoer spent his first season at San Jose as Sharks coach. These sharks also made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. This is the second time in his coaching career that DeBoer has won his conference in his first season with the team. He seems to be burning out quickly as a manager, but it’s clear that he immediately grabs the attention of his team.
The Stars are winning the Stanley Cup 16 to 1, and while that’s a fair price, I think most of the league’s best teams are far outside the East. So I would prefer Dallas to win the West 6-1.
Statistics from MoneyPuck.com and NaturalStatTrick.com
Source: sports.yahoo.com
