WILL THE WINGS BE CHALLENGED?
The Detroit Red Wings are in the familiar position as big favorites to win the National Hockey League’s Western Conference as they get set to open their season this week.
The defending Stanley Cup Champions are listed at 7:4 odds to win the Western Conference at Sportsbook.com and any other team winning would be a big surprise.
Detroit dominated the NHL last year with a 54-21-7 record in the regular season which was the best in the league. They followed up their regular season success by losing just six times in the playoffs en route to their Stanley Cup Championship.
The 4-2 series win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the finals erased years of playoff disappointments after dominating regular seasons. Now, the Wings may even be better than they were last year.
Detroit added Slovakian star Marion Hossa in free agency this summer. The coveted free agent had 26 points in 20 playoff games for the Penguins last season and joins a star-studded team that already has Russian Pavel Datsyuk and Swede Henrik Zetterberg up front. Datsyuk and Zetterberg finished 4th and 6th respectively in league scoring last season and should put up even better numbers with Hossa on the wing.
Add a defense anchored by two of the best in the league in Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski and goaltender Chris Osgood has the best job in the league.
The San Jose Sharks are second in the conference, at 5:1 odds, but the Sharks have been an underachieving team in recent years. Despite being good in the regular season, San Jose has struggled in the postseason and captain Joe Thornton has taken the brunt of the abuse as his teams have often fallen short in big games.
The 2007 champion Anaheim Ducks are third in the West at 6:1 odds. Many experts expected the Ducks to challenge the Wings in the postseason last year but the Dallas Stars ousted them in the first round of the playoffs. Anaheim was missing Corey Perry for the start of the playoffs last season and if healthy, they may be the best value in the conference.
Dallas, the conference semifinalists last season, is listed at 9:1 odds. The Stars traded for former playoff MVP Brad Richards at the trade deadline last year and that helped them reach the Conference Finals as the fifth seed in the West.
The Stars should once again be among the conference’s best but they may not have the scoring power to stick with Detroit again this year.
Surprisingly, the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks are listed at 9:1 odds. Both teams feature a lot of young talent and are among the more exciting teams to watch in the league but expecting them to compete against veteran teams like Detroit, San Jose, Anaheim or Dallas could be a bit too much.
More surprising is that the Oilers and Blackhawks are listed ahead of the Calgary Flames (12:1). Calgary has one of the best leaders in the game in Jarome Iginla and goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff is one of the best in the NHL as well.
With the additions of Mike Cammalleri and veteran Todd Bertuzzi, Calgary has the talent and grit to be a tough team in the postseason.
The Rest of the West
Minnesota Wild (12:1)
Colorado Avalanche (20:1)
Nashville Predators (20:1)
Vancouver Canucks (20:1)
Phoenix Coyotes (25:1)
St. Louis Blues (30:1)
Columbus Blue Jackets (50:1)
Los Angeles Kings (50:1)
