New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals

Both New York and Washington survived a game seven in the first round and will meet for the third time in four years in the playoffs. During both of the previous playoff meetings Washington was the favorite to win the series, but the tide has shifted this year as the top seeded Rangers are expected to take this series. Rookie goaltender Braden Holtby was terrific in the first round against Boston, and will need to be on top of his game again if the Capitals are going to knock off the favored Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist.

Philadelphia Flyers vs. New Jersey Devils

After beating the heavily favored Pittsburgh Penguins in six games during round one, the Philadelphia Flyers had to wait a week to see who they were going to play. New Jersey took longer than expected to dispose of the Florida Panthers, but got the job done in double overtime of game seven in the first round. With their triumph over the Panthers, the Devils will travel to Philadelphia to take on the high flying Flyers who were an offensive juggernaut in the first round. However, most fans are expecting a more defensive series between these two teams. As long as Flyers net minder Ilya Bryzgalov can keep his concentration in goal and not get flustered, the Flyers appear to have too much offense for the Devils to overcome.

Of the remaining teams in the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia and New York have the best odds to win the Stanley Cup according to oddsmakers at 11-4 and 9-2 respectively.

It will not be until at least the second round of the playoffs, if these teams see one another again this season. For now, over the final days leading up to the postseason, each has its own agenda. The Blues are still in the running for the No. 1 seed and Presidents’ Trophy, although they have clinched the Central. The Red Wings are seeking fourth seed and home-ice advantage in the first round and they are in a battle with the Blackhawks and Predators,

The Red Wings rebounded with a key 2-1 shootout victory Sunday against the Panthers, although the consecutive losses to Columbus and Nashville threatened Detroit’s chances at opening the playoffs at The Joe. In the first period, they spotted the visitors and spent until early in the third trying to catch up. Kyle Quincey received a one-game suspension Monday, therefore in this game; Detroit will have to juggle its defense.

St. Louis has three games left with which to build some positive momentum heading into its first playoff series in three years, having dropped two straight and six of its last nine. Despite a 5-2 loss to the Blue Jackets, the Blues clinched the Central on Saturday in which Jaroslav Halak stopped 28 of 32 shots. Halak has given up either three or four goals in four of his last five starts since a 10-game stretch in which he did not allow more than two goals in a start.

Hudler, in his last five games for the Red Wings has 4 goals and 2 assists, while for the Blues; David Perron has goals in three straight games. David Backes has 2 goals and 3 assists in his last four games. Injury reports suggest that forward Darren Helm (knee) could return at some point during the playoffs, while Detroit goalie Joey MacDonald (back spasms) is day-to-day.

Various popular betting websites are out with their odds. The best betting odds for Detroit Red Wings are 13/10, while for St Louis Blues 4/6.

After a 3-2 overtime defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Penguins 11-game unbeaten run starting from February 21st ended on Sunday.

Even though rivals may worry Pittsburgh’s best hockey lies ahead thanks to the health of Crosby and star defenseman Kris Letang, the Penguins’ 11-game winning streak is over after they blew a two-goal lead in the third period and lost 3-2 in the final second of overtime Sunday in Philadelphia.

With 94-points, the Penguins are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference. They need the two points to maintain their position with Atlantic division rivals Philadelphia trailing them by just two points.

Conversely, in the Eastern Conference, the Jets are pushing for the final playoff spot. The Jets need to build some winning momentum if they wish to enter the playoffs, as they are just four points behind eighth placed Washington Capitals. With 76-points, Winnipeg Jets are currently tenth in the Eastern Conference.

The Jets (34-30-8) may wish they did not have to play any games in Pittsburgh. While winning 10 in a row at home against the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise, which has won four times in 23 all-time visits, the Penguins (44-21-6) have averaged 4.5 goals. On Friday, Winnipeg visits the Capitals, which has a game in hand on both Washington and ninth-place Buffalo.

With a relatively easy run of games for the rest of the month, the Penguins will be confident of keeping their position in fourth in the Eastern Conference and they will not be too worried about the loss though.

The Penguins will look to increase the gap between themselves and the Flyers, as they will be confident of victory over Winnipeg on Tuesday.

The Blackhawks opened the season as one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup at 12-1 and they have been bet down to 6-1 co-favorites with the Washington Capitals. The Blackhawks have been the best team in the Western Conference for the last three years despite Vancouver making the finals last season.

The Canucks are not suffering through the Stanley Cup hangover after falling short against the Boston Bruins last season. The Canucks opened as a 6-1 favorite to win the Cup and despite the team leading the NHL in points at halfway, their odds have gone up to 9-1.

The Los Angeles Kings have finally returned as a contender in the West. The books believed in the Kings, if no one else did. The Kings opened as a 12-1 shot to win it all and have been bet down to 10-1. Los Angeles is hungry for a winner after watching the Anaheim Ducks win a Stanley Cup and this is their best chance in years.

The odds on the Ducks are another curious anomaly. The team is in the basement but their futures odds have actually been bet down. The Ducks opened the season at 25-1 and they now sit at 20-1.

The Phoenix Coyotes have been pummeled this season and their futures odds have reflected their tumble. The Coyotes opened as a 30-1 shot and quickly tumbled to 80-1 as their season unraveled.

Make sure you check with your favorite online sportsbook for updated lines on winning the Stanley Cup prior to making any proposition bets.

The Stanley Cup runner-ups, the Vancouver Canucks, are a 6-1 favorite overall to win in 2012. The Canucks bitter collapse to the Boston Bruins will weigh heavy on their minds this season and most teams can never get over the hangover that comes after falling one game short of hoisting the Cup over their heads.

The next five NHL favorites are Eastern Conference teams until the Chicago Blackhawks, who are 12-1 to win the Cup. The Blackhawks are just a few years removed from their Stanley Cup and they still have the nucleus of that team intact.

There are actually five teams sharing 12-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup this season. Four of them are Western Conference main stays. The Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are all 12-1 along with the Blackhawks and Eastern Conference long shot, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Anaheim Ducks have fallen off the map in a short time and they are now a long shot to win the Cup at 25-1. The Ducks demise has been quick and unrelenting as the team has failed to keep up in the free agent races.

The Western Conference includes some of the longest shots in the NHL. The Edmonton Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche are 65-1 and the Minnesota Wild are 60-1 to win the Cup. The Wild always manage to get themselves involved in a playoff race despite the preseason prognostications.

This past week, the NHL held its second-ever Research and Development camp, looking at possible changes in making the back of the net four inches shorter, putting clear plastic at the top of the net to allow easier review of goals, the same plastic at the back, bottom of the net, as well as putting in a green ‘verification line’ 3 inches behind the red goal line to help establish good goals.

Now most of these changes should not affect the basic team strength and weaknesses for all 30 NHL teams this year, as would a change in other areas the league is looking at, such as making teams kill off the full two minutes of a minor penalty, or no icing of the puck during a penalty kill.

These changes would certainly help teams with strong powerplays, such as the Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks or Detroit Red Wings. And conversely, it would certainly impact decisions made by oddsmakers at the various online sportsbook sites on both the futures offered on various wagers, as well as the basic head to head bets for Pucklines and Totals.

The Bruins are a -145 moneyline favorite and the over/under total is 5.5 in NHL Betting.

Both teams have had an extended layoff following their respective second round sweeps of the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers. Tampa has been off since May 4th while Boston has been waiting since May 6th. With these extended layoffs both teams figure to be fresh and well rested when the Conference Finals begin.

Boston won the season series against Tampa Bay winning four of the six games the two teams played against each other. In fact, Boston won the last three match ups including an 8-1 romp in Boston on December 2nd, 2010. While Boston may have won the season series, this playoff match up figures to be a competitive battle as both Tampa and Boston are getting great play from their top players.

Experts always say the goalie is the most important player come playoff time, and both Boston and Tampa Bay have gotten excellent play from their net minders.

Tim Thomas and Dwayne Roloson have played exceptionally well in goal for Boston and Tampa as both goalies lead the league in playoff save percentage, making it even more difficult to predict the winner of this series. It appears that the special teams play of both clubs will have a major impact on this series.

Currently, Boston is ranked tenth on the penalty kill in the playoffs while Tampa Bay has the second best penalty kill unit. The power play unit seems to favor Tampa Bay as well, as the Lightning rank third in that category while Boston has struggled through the first two rounds only scoring two power play goals in thirty seven chances, good for the fourteenth best ranking in the playoffs.

If these trends continue, Tampa Bay could be heading to the Stanley Cup Finals representing the Eastern Conference.

Detroit is a -170 moneyline favorite and the over/under total is 5.5 in NHL Odds.

The Red Wings are in danger of putting themselves in a very deep hole. They have already struggled in the first two games of the series and they now find themselves down 2-0.

In the first two games of the series that Red Wings have struggled to get things going offensively. They have suffered 2-1 losses in each game and the Sharks seem to have their number to this point. They will certainly need to find a way to score more than one goal per game if they hope to win this game. The Sharks will probably come out aggressively and the Red Wings will need to find a way to slow the Sharks down offensively while still improving on their own offensive end.

The Sharks are in a comfortable position, but a loss in this game will very much open the door for Detroit. If they are able to win this game they will be able to relax a bit as it is almost unheard of for a team to blow a 3-0 series lead.

Detroit was 21-14-6 while playing at home this season, which is actually a worse record than their road record. While this is true, they may be able to get a boost from their home crowd in this game. In online sports picks, the Detroit Red Wings is favorites to win this match.

The Flyers are a -135 moneyline favorite and the over/under total is 5.5 in NHL Betting Odds.

Despite being two of the best teams in the league, both of these teams needed all 7 games to finish off their opponents in the first round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Flyers were engaged in a difficult series against the Buffalo Sabres. While the series was close, they managed to close out the series with a convincing 5-2 victory over Buffalo.

During the season these teams were the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the Eastern Conference. Both of these teams were solid at home and even better on the road and they should both be ready for a hard fought series.

The Bruins are a slighting more well-rounded team in terms of playing on both sides of the ice. They are the 5th best team in the league in goals per game and they are the 2nd best team in the NHL in goals against. The Flyers are a slightly better team offensively, as they are the 3rd best team in the league in goals per game, but they are just the 11th best team in the league in goals against. They will need to buckle down defensively if they hope to take the victory in this series.

This may be the best series in the playoffs this season as both of these teams have all of the tools necessary to win this series.

According to various online sports betting site the Bruins are a -115 favorite and the over/under total at 5.

The Canadiens are also the home team in this game and they’ll have the chance to go up 3-1 at their home arena in front of their fans. Look for the Canadiens to come out ready to play in this game.

The Canadiens started out the series in dominating fashion as they were able to put up a shutout against the Bruins in the series opener. They won the game 2-0 and looked dominant over the Bruins.

The Canadiens continued to dominate the Bruins in the 2nd game of the series as the Bruins were held to just 1 goal. The Bruins are a solid team and nobody expected the Canadiens to hold them to a single goal in the first two games. Montreal ultimately took home the victory by a score of 3-1 to go up 2-0 in the series.

The Bruins bounced back in game three with a much more typical offensive performance. They put 4 goals in the net and limited the Canadiens to 2 goals. This allowed them to pull back within contention in the series. A win in this game would even up the series for the Bruins. It would also give them a lot of momentum after winning 2 games in a row. In online sports picks the Boston Bruins are favorites to win this match.