Stanley Cup Finals Odds and the West Conference. All the talk in NHL betting this season has focused on the Easter Conference its favored status in the quest for a spot in the Stanley Cup odds. And it’s logical if you consider the Pittsburgh Penguins are the defending Stanley Cup finals betting champs, the Washington Capitals have been the dominant team in the regular season hockey betting and the two biggest hockey wagering stars on the planet both play in the East.
But all this focus on the Eastern Conference has left the Western Conference out of the Stanley Cup odds discussion, for the most part, and that’s a huge mistake if you’re a fan of NHL betting. The East may get the headlines but the West has been every bit as exciting –if not more so- during the NHL betting regular season and the race for a spot in the Stanley Cup betting is wide open.
Obviously the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks are the favorites in the NHL odds to book a spot in the Stanley Cup odds but that’s hardly a given. The Sharks and Hawks were the cream of hockey betting crop during the regular season NHL betting finishing with 113 and 112 points respectively and wrapping up their divisions.
But there are plenty of talented and hungry teams out there that could derail a San Jose or Chicago bid for the Stanley Cup odds. Vancouver (103 points) has been a dangerous team all year and with Olympic gold medal winning goalie Roberto Luongo in the net, this team will be a very difficult team to knock out of the NHL playoff betting.
And you’d be crazy to sleep on the upstart Phoenix Coyotes in the hockey betting odds as well. This is a team that most NHL odds makers predicted to finish last this season (if they didn’t self-destruct during the season) but the Coyotes have proved to be one of the scrappiest teams in the NHL this year and it would be very easy to envision this team becoming the Cinderella of this year’s NHL playoff betting.