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Sports Betting Futures Odds: Capitals, Blues Looking Good in Stanley Cup Playoffs

by - 4/20/2016

David Backes St. Louis Blues

The Washington Capitals were the Stanley Cup favorites heading into the playoffs and they have done nothing to change that status through three games against the Philadelphia Flyers. In a more surprising development, the St. Louis Blues are also one win away from the conference semifinals. They are leading the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 after picking up two consecutive road victories.

All odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook .

Stanley Cup

Washington Capitals (+325) -The Capitals bagged the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with 16 points to spare, and no one in the entire NHL came within 11 points of them during the regular season. Washington has been similarly dominant in the playoffs, having outscored Philadelphia by a combined 12-2 margin heading into Game 4 on Wednesday.

St. Louis Blues (+500) - In a way, St. Louis came close to sweeping Chicago. Through four contests, the only occasion on which the Blues lost saw them have an apparent go-ahead goal called off midway through the third period by an extremely close offsides ruling. St. Louis, which finished with the second-most points in the West, has not won a playoff series since 2011-12.

Dallas Stars (+650) -Only Dallas fished with a better record than the Blues in the Western Conference (50-23-9, 109 points). So far, the Stars' first-round series with Minnesota has been all about home-ice advantage. They picked up 4-0 and 2-1 home victories before the Wild took care of business 5-3 on Monday. Dallas is looking for its first title since 1998-99.

Pittsburgh Penguins (+650) -The Penguins have not reached the Stanley Cup Finals since making back-to-back appearances in 2007-08 and and 2008-09 (lost to the Red Wings and then beat the Red Wings). So the regular season does not matter much to this franchise. That being said, Pitt-which leads the Rangers 2-1-won eight of its last nine and 14 of its last 16 games.

French Open

Novak Djokovic (-145) - Djokovic has won the last three Grand Slams after triumphing at the Australian Open earlier this season. But the French Open, which begins next month, is the only major that still eludes the world No. 1. Djokovic's clay-court swing got off to a rough start last week when he lost his opening match to Jiri Vesely in Monte-Carlo.

Rafael Nadal (+300) -Djokovic's loss left the door wide open and it was Nadal who walked through it, capturing his ninth Monte-Carlo title. The fifth-ranked Spaniard is also a nine-time champion at Roland Garros, where he reigned from 2005-2008 and 2010-2015. Although Nadal has fallen off a bit of late, he clearly remains a serious force on clay.

Andy Murray (+800) -Murray was once a fish out of water on clay. It is still the only surface on which he has never won a slam (U.S. Open in 2012, Wimbledon in 2013), but the second-ranked Scot has reached at least the quarterfinals in four straight French Open appearances (including three semifinals). He took a set off Nadal in the recent Monte-Carlo semis.

Stan Wawrinka (+900) - In one of the most significant upsets in recent memory, Wawrinka stunned Djokovic in last year's Roland Garros final. The fourth-ranked Swiss is now a two-time major champion, having also triumphed over Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open. But Wawrinka has struggled this season and got blown out by Nadal in the Monte-Carlo quarters.

Valero Texas Open

Branden Grace (+1600) -Grace won last week at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C., so he has plenty of momentum heading into San Antonio. It was a nice bounce-back by the South African after he missed the cut at the Masters. Grace finished T30 at this event last season.

Jimmy Walker (+1600) - Walker is not quite as on fire as he was early in 2015, a run that included a title at this same Valero Texas Open (by four strokes over Jordan Spieth). Still, the American is playing well. He has made 10 of 11 cuts this year and owns three top-10 finishes.

Zach Johnson (+1800) -What's not to like about Johnson's chances this week? The reigning British Open champion triumphed on back-to-back occasions in San Antonio in 2008 and 2009. Johnson, who finished T20 at last season's Valero Texas Open, boasts three top-10s in 2016.

Matt Kuchar (+2000) - Kuchar has been his typically consistent self this season, but he has not lifted a trophy on the PGA Tour since the 2014 RBC Heritage. The former Georgia Tech star has three top-10s in 2016 and placed T15 last year in San Antonio. Brooks Koepka is also +2000.

Champions League

Bayern Munich (+150) - Bayern is tied for third with five titles in the history of the UEFA Champions League, having most recently won it all in 2013. The Reds, who will face Atletico Madrid in the semifinals starting next Wednesday, have not lost in 10 straight matches across all leagues.

Real Madrid (+200) -Cristiano Ronaldo and company lost their first leg of the quarterfinals 2-0 against Wolfsburg, but they roared back to take the second match 3-0 and advance to the semis, where they will take on Manchester City. Real Madrid is the all-time leader with 10 Champions League titles.

Atletico Madrid (+300) - Atletico is bidding for its first-ever title in this prestigious event, but it is not a complete stranger to success. The Red and Whites have finished runner-up twice, including most recently in 2014. They beat Barcelona 2-0 last week to erase a 2-1 deficit after the first leg.

Manchester City (+600) - Since Manchester United got the job done in 2008, only one English Premier League club has triumphed in the Champions League (Chelsea in 2012). Man City has never even reached the final, but it is is coming off a huge 3-2 aggregate victory over Paris Saint-Germain.

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