HOCKEY NHL ARTICLES

Following their epic first round playoff flop last year the Tampa Bay Lighting still remain a favorite with the NHL Betting Lines. Tampa Bay has too much talent to ignore but the fact remains that their President’s Trophy championship got them nowhere in the end last spring. Their less than inspiring start to the new season may be reflective of that. By contrast the Pittsburgh Penguins are off to an impressive start and have shown good balance in the early going. ... 

Two years ago, the New Jersey Devils had a dream season in which they reached the playoffs and boasted the Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall, which goes to the NHL most valuable player. General manager Ray Shero was being celebrated as a turnaround artist and dreams a return to glory were at hand. However last year was a major setback with Hall out most of the year and the roster not deep enough to overcome his absence. Now the Devils have flopped out of the gate with their fans up in arms and gamblers salivating at the blood in the water. Thursday the Devils have a very important cross-town rivalry matchup with the resurgent New York Rangers. ... 

With the arrival of Alain Vigneault as new head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers the hope is that a playoff spot can be secured. Philadelphia fans and many handicappers believe the roster is good enough to make a post season run. The New Jersey Devils had a terrible letdown season for 2018-19 after making the playoffs the year before. To many this is a do or die season for head coach John Hynes. Also, under intense scrutiny is 2018 NHL Most Valuable Player Taylor Hall who missed most of last yea... 

In each of the last two seasons the NHL odds did not have the Washington Capitals or the St. Louis Blues as favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Yet that is exactly what both teams have done. In 2018 the Caps stunned the hockey world with the first Stanley Cup title in franchise history. The very next year the Blues turned the trick to win their first ever Stanley Cup championship after climbing out of last place in the entire NHL at the season’s midway point. So, to start the season the most recen... 

Last year the Tampa Bay Lightning lit up the NHL regular season like a runaway freight train. In fact, the Bolts resembled Secretariat at the Belmont with a whopping 128 regular season points to win the Presidents Trophy going away. Once again, the Lighting will be one of the top favorites for the most points in the 2019-20 NHL regular season. Other popular picks for success are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues, and Boston Bruins. On the other end of the spectrum the Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators are tabbed to be facing miserable seasons. Let’s take a look at the top picks for Futures NHL Odds points in the 2019-20 NHL season. ... 

Current NHL odds have the Tampa Bay Lightning as the favorite to win the 2020 Stanley Cup championship. What may be the most interesting nugget from the Stanley Cup futures board is that the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues are not a top tier chalk. St. Louis shocked the hockey world with their Cinderella run last spring. Stuck with the worst record in the NHL on New Year’s Day the Blues went on a remarkable and historic march that is unlikely to ever happen again. What is most ironic of all is that the Blues could be a much better team than they were last season and yet not win the Stanley Cup in 2020. ... 

The St. Louis Blues may regret Sunday’s 5-1 home loss to the Boston Bruins in game six of the Stanley Cup Final for the rest of their lives. With the chance to clinch their first ever Stanley Cup championship in front of their home fans the Blues simply weren’t good enough. St. Louis has been the most resilient team in the NHL this year. But the Bruins matched them in that category in game six. With the season on the line and facing elimination Boston was the better team. But now the pressure is... 

The St. Louis Blues have a rich although star-crossed history since their berth in 1967 as part of the NHL’s “Second Six” and Great Expansion. The Blues made the Stanley Cup Final in each of their first three seasons as champions of the expansion West Division. And they were swept all three times. And since their last appearance against the Boston Bruins in 1970 the Blues have never made it back. But now those 49 years of frustration could be ending Sunday night. St. Louis will host the Bruins i... 

At the onset of the Stanley Cup Final the Boston Bruins were understandable favorites. Boston was deep and powerful with four interchangeable rolling lines. Additionally, the Bruins have vast playoff experience. Most important of all goaltender Tuukka Rask had never looked better. By contrast the St. Louis Blues rose from worst to first in the Western Conference. And while their climb was respected by all they did not have the tradition of success that the Bruins enjoyed. St. Louis was considere... 

The tables were turned in short order. After the Boston Bruins dominant 4-2 win in game one of the Stanley Cup Final there were considerable questions about the Blues ability to keep pace in the best of seven series. And while there is usually an element of overreaction to any one game of a playoff series it was over the top after Boston’s win in the opener. But in game two it was the Blues that were superior, far more so than the final score indicated. St. Louis scored a 3-2 win in game two as they evened the series and stole home ice advantage from the Bruins. Now the series heads to St. Louis for games three and four. ... 

The “rest versus rust” question in regards to the Boston Bruins and their 11-day break before the start of the Stanley Cup Final was answered, at least in part, on Monday night’s first game. “Rust” showed in the first period as the St. Louis Blues took a 2-0 lead. But midway through the second period “rest” became the answer as the powerful Bruins demonstrated great depth and tactics. Boston’s unleashed the full potential of their attack with a relentless assault as they wore the Blues down en r... 

On January 3, 2019 the St. Louis Blues were dead last in the NHL with the worst record of all the teams in the circuit. They were pronounced dead and buried. After all, the old adage is that if you are not in playoff position on Thanksgiving weekend you are in big time trouble. Which means dead last at New Years is a death sentence. But be careful of messing with someone that has nothing to lose. Interim head coach Craig Berube was as good as terminated come April. That freed him for the gamble ... 

Following the San Jose Sharks 4-3 overtime win in game three of the Western Conference Final at St. Louis, many Blues fans believed the curse that has plagued the franchise since 1970 was in full effect. The Sharks game winning goal was in part due to an illegal hand pass that all four on ice officials failed to catch. Adding insult to injury was that the call was not reviewable for instant replay. At that moment the Blues faced a choice. They could whine and cry about the blown call or they cou... 

The St. Louis Blues had game three of their Western Conference Final series against the San Jose Sharks in hand. St. Louis rallied from a 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead which they were holding with just over a minute to go. But Logan Couture tied the game at the 18:59 mark to send it into overtime. And that is where all hell broke loose. Erik Karlsson got the highly controversial game winning goal at the 5:23 mark of the extra session. Factoring greatly in Karlsson’s winning goal was an illegal ... 

“A Bunch of Jerks!” That is the recent label that the upstart Carolina Hurricanes and their fans have embraced. The reason for that name is due to the “Storm Surge” celebrations by the Canes after a regular season home win. These celebrations ranged from the players falling like bowling pins, dunking basketballs, crashing into the boards after a relay race, and even a mock boxing match with Evander Holyfield. To the starched NHL it was a sacrilegious assault on the tradition and etiquette of the... 

For both the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues the road to the Western Conference Final has been improbable, perilous, but also the ultimate thrill ride for those who had the nerves of steel necessary to watch. While neither team was a preseason favorite the quality of both squads has become apparent. It is no accident that San Jose and St. Louis are in hockey’s final four. They are deep, complete, well coached and have the most important element of all; Good Goaltending. Saturday night the Sh... 

Gamblers and sports fans could not ask for more when it comes to drama, unpredictability, and high wire acts in the Stanley Cup playoffs this spring. The top four seeds and defending Stanley Cup champion were bounced in the opening round. And it hardly ends there. The San Jose Sharks rallied from a 3-1 deficit in games to upend the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. Meanwhile the Colorado Avalanche were not expected to make the post season but make it they did. And in the first round they killed off the top seed in the Western Conference, the Calgary Flames, in five games. Now the Avs and Sharks meet for a winner take all game seven. It just keeps getting better in the NHL post season! ... 

There could not be two teams that could be more opposite than the Columbus Blue Jackets and Boston Bruins. Boston is a classic blue blood old money Original Six team with a grand history and tradition. By contrast Columbus has struggled for two decades as an expansion team that had never won a playoff series until this year. Yet Columbus has gone toe to toe with the Bruins while showing no fear in their Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series. Perhaps its because they are led by a Bostonian ... 

In order to win a Stanley Cup championship a team must overcome adversity and setbacks along the way. There will be bad bounces, breaks and officiating mistakes. The championship teams will rise to the occasion with resiliency, determination, and resourcefulness to kill off the karma. The playoff teams that head to the golf links in failure whine, cry, and make excuses about luck not going their way. Such is the fork in the road that the New York Islanders now face. After a tough loss in game tw... 

At the beginning of the 2018-19 NHL season nobody was calling for the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes to make the playoffs, let alone advance to the second round at the expense of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals. But that is exactly what has happened. Both the Islanders with Barry Trotz and the Hurricanes with Rod Brind’Amour were beneficiaries of superior coaching in their first round series. Both mentors got their respective lineups to plays team-first hockey wit... 

The Boston Bruins went the distance with the Toronto Maple Leafs and used home ice advantage to score a decisive 5-1 in game seven to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinal. Meanwhile the Columbus Blue Jackets have been practicing and scrimmaging in front of large crowds of eager fans thrilled with the franchise’s first ever playoff series win last week over the top seeded Tampa Bay Lighting. Now the immediate question for game one is if Boston can refocus and have enough in the tank after ... 

“There is nothing like playoff hockey.” That quote has been uttered over and over again the past two weeks and with plenty of good reason. The first round of this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs has been among the most unpredictable and entertaining in recent memory. And one of the best series so far has been between two Original Six teams with storied histories and large fan bases as the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins will be heading into a seventh and final game on Tuesday night. Toronto ha... 

The St. Louis Blues pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in NHL history as they were written off for dead in November after firing head coach Mike Yeo. The Blues were not only playing poorly but also without fire, desire or much effort. Enter Craig Berube. The man that served as Yeo’s assistant was promoted to interim head coach and, after a sluggish start, lit a fire under the team that saved their season and earned an unexpected playoff berth. On the whole the Blues finished 38-19-6 under ... 

The Calgary Flames may have won the Pacific Division going away but that does not take away from the fact that they had their share of skeptics and detractors. More specifically Flames goaltender Mike Smith has more than a few doubters in regards to his ability to backstop a team to the Stanley Cup. Smith’s save percentage of .898 in the regular season was considered far below par and a sign that Calgary could be had. With sharp shooting power forward Nathan MacKinnon, the Colorado Avalanche cer... 

The Columbus Blue Jackets stunned the hockey world when they rallied from a 3-0 deficit at the Tampa Bay Lighting to win game one by a score of 4-3. Certainly, a lot of gamblers had what they thought were winning tickets that turned as red as their faces come the end of the game. Now the question is if Tampa Bay can recover from blowing a sure win on their home ice to start the series. One of the big worries heading into the playoffs was that the Lighting had not faced any real significant adver...