The official push towards the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs got underway in the NHL on Tuesday night following this past weekend’s annual All-Star Break. The race for a spot in this year’s field should remain heated in all four divisions right down to the final week of the regular season in early April with a number of teams in each conference still in contention.
MyBookie has recently updated its NHL futures odds for all four division title races as well as for each conference and a Stanley Cup title. My job is to find the best betting value in the current numbers.
Division Title Futures
The Pacific Division is one of the tightest title races in the NHL standings right now with three teams all within two points of one another as of Tuesday’s results. San Jose has a one-point lead over Anaheim with 66 points while the Edmonton Oilers are holding down third place with 64 points. The futures odds favor the Sharks to end up on top at +145 betting odds followed by the Oilers (+200) and the Ducks (+225).
I am going with the added value in Anaheim’s odds as my top play given the simple fact that it has won the Pacific Division the past four seasons. Granted, the Ducks have had some major issues winning in the playoffs over this same span, but four-straight division titles has to count for something. I also like the fact that Anaheim is solid across the board on defense in both goals allowed and killing off power plays.
Conference Title Futures
It is no big surprise that perennial favorites such as Washington (+375) and Pittsburgh (+400) in the Eastern Conference and Chicago (+300) in the West are at the top of the futures list to win their respective conference this season. However, I have zeroed in on a new-comer to this list in the West that has already proven it has what it takes to join this elite company.
With Tuesday’s 5-2 victory on the road against Edmonton as +105 underdogs, the Minnesota Wild have picked up right where they left off before the All-Star break. They have won five of their last six games to open up a six-point lead over Chicago in the Central Division with 71 total points, which is second-most in the NHL.
The Wild are also listed as +300 co-favorites to win the Western Conference this season and I believe they do have what it takes to make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Minnesota is ranked fourth in the league in scoring goals (3.3) behind Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund, but more importantly it is second overall in goals allowed (2.2) with Devan Dubnyk getting the majority of the starts in goal. This is the kind of combination that is built to go deep in the playoffs.
Stanley Cup Futures
The Metro Division is loaded with talent this season and right in the mix with the Capitals and the Penguins are the Columbus Blue Jackets. They are currently just two points in back of Washington (72 points) in the division title race and their odds to win the Eastern Conference are now set at +500. Taking things one step further, I think there is some tremendous value in their +950 betting odds to stun the field and win the 2017 Stanley Cup. The Capitals are the favorite at +575 followed by Pittsburgh and Minnesota at +700 and Chicago at +750.
One potential downside is the Blue Jackets is their relative lack of experience in the postseason with just one appearance in the past seven seasons, but there are enough positives with this team to offset this concern. Columbus has already been highly successful when it comes to competing against some of the top teams in the league and it knows how to win on the road with a 15-7-3 record on the year.
The Blue Jackets’ biggest strength could be their overall balance with a goals per game average of 3.3 complementing a goals-against average of 2.4. They have the top power play in the NHL behind Cam Atkinson as the team’s leading goal scorer. What seals it for me has been the steady play of Sergei Bobrovsky in goal with a GAA of 2.1 and a .929 save percentage.
