The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Wednesday and, with competitive balance at an all-time high, you can expect this spring to serve as another reminder as to why the NHL has the best playoffs of any professional sport. The Rangers open up as the prohibitive favorite to win the cup, but could face stiff competition from the Blackhawks and the Blues, among others, on their championship path.
In running down the betting odds for each first round matchup, we’ll see how each team stacks up and make picks for every playoff game.
St. Louis Blues -145 vs. Minnesota Wild +126
The Wild are riding high with savior/goaltender Devan Dubnyk while St. Louis is again having their goaltending tandem of Brian Elliott and Jake Allen facing doubts. There is a sense of now or never with the Blues and their Stanley Cup prospects. We expect Elliott to rise to the occasion with one of the better blue lines in front of him. The Blues also have the finishing sniper in right wing Vladimir Tarasenko that was missing last year. Pick: St. Louis
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Anaheim Ducks -170 vs. Winnipeg Jets +145
The grit and character of the Jets is what makes them a dangerous playoff opponent that nobody wants to face. But the Jets seem to us to be getting too much love, which is always a concern when considering the underdog role and its relative board value. Anaheim and coach Bruce Boudreau are reputed chokers. It could be a sexy pick to go with Winnipeg here, but we’ll stick with the favorite. Pick: Anaheim
Chicago Blackhawks -135 vs. Nashville Predators +115
Chicago is overvalued here, even if top scorer Patrick Kane does return from injury. Nashville has a world class goaltender in Pekka Rinne and one of the deepest defensive corps in the game. We are concerned about the Nashville forward lines, however, especially at center. The Preds struggled to score down the stretch and although we are tempted to call for Hockeytonk, we’ll go with the proven commodity in Chicago. Pick: Chicago
Vancouver Canucks -150 vs. Calgary Flames +130 The truculent Flames have exactly what is necessary for Stanley Cup Playoff success with their heart and soul character. The Flames have more grit than Vancouver, and are also sold short for their actual talent level and ability. We really like Calgary in this one. Pick: Calgary
Montreal Canadiens -160 vs. Ottawa Senators +135
The Ottawa Senators have become something of a Cinderella story and sentimental favorite with their Hamburglar goaltender, Andrew Hammond, who rallied them to an improbable playoff run after being pronounced dead in February. But the fact remains that Montreal has the most dominant goaltender in the game with Carey Price and a defenseman in P.K. Subban who is capable of dominating games. We call for midnight to strike on Cinderella and Montreal to win going away, despite their popgun offense. Pick: Montreal
Washington Capitals -145 vs. New York Islanders +125
We are quite bullish on Alex Ovechkin and the Caps and they should expose the Islanders defensive and goaltending weaknesses for a series win. The Islanders will be tough at home with a fantastic atmosphere at Nassau Coliseum, but they do not have enough to get past a Washington team that is looking primed for a deep run. The Islanders questionable defense and goaltending is exactly what does NOT win playoff series. Washington has been developed into a complete team by coach Barry Trotz. Pick: Washington
New York Rangers -230 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins +195
Pittsburgh has very little chance of winning this one as their top defenseman, Kris Letang, is out and the rest of their blue line corps is full of number six defensemen. The Rangers are loaded and posted the top regular season record in the NHL. We must emphasize that there are no locks in hockey but we just cannot put down any cash on the Pens, even at such an inviting price. Pittsburgh has given us absolutely no reason to think that they can pull off an upset.
Pittsburgh star center Sidney Crosby is no longer dominant, which further adds to the Pens lack of appeal. Crosby went through the entire 2014-15 season without his past look of being able to carry a team all the way. Pick: New York
Tampa Bay Lightning -190 vs. Detroit Red Wings +160
Tampa Bay is the highest scoring team in the NHL while Detroit slipped down to 15th in the NHL for goals against and 17th for penalty killing. Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard is facing more doubters and is not a dominant netminder. Lightning should strike early and often in this one although, again, there are no sure things in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Although we are not a fan of Detroit coach Mike Babcock, we must give him his just his due as a potential difference maker that makes us hesitant to step out too far. Pick: Tampa Bay
