Hockey Handicapping Articles

2016 Anaheim Ducks Expert Predictions with NHL Futures Betting Odds
by Victor Ryan - 10/11/2016

It was much of the same for the Anaheim Ducks in 2015-16: A 100-point regular season followed by a Game 7 loss at home in the playoffs. As a result of the mounting postseason heartbreaks, the Ducks have gone back to the future. Out as coach is the player-friendly Bruce Boudreau, and returning is predecessor Randy Carlyle, the noted taskmaster who guided the Ducks to their only Stanley Cup 2007.

NHL Handicapping for New Betting Season: Potential Surprise Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 10/11/2016

We are right on the verge of the start of the NHL season. Here where I sit in Canada it is like we are on the eve of a national holiday. At this point the fans of almost every team in the league are optimistic. They believe that things will be better than last year - except for in Pittsburgh where they just expect it to be the same as it was. Some of those fans will be right. As many will be desperately wrong, and their souls will be crushed by the fate of the squad.

NHL Betting Advice: Potential Wagering Disappointments for the New Season
by Trevor Whenham - 10/11/2016

As I write this it is Tuesday. The NHL season starts on Wednesday. Most of the opening day levels are either set now or are just hours away from being so. That means that we can start to have a sense of what we think teams are and what their seasons are going to look like. In some cases we will be right. In others we will be very wrong. As I look at teams and where they are at, here are four teams that strike me as vulnerable. They may be just fine, but they could very easily fall well short of the expectations people have for them. (Odds to win the Stanley Cup are from BetOnline):

2016 New York Islanders Expert Predictions with NHL Futures Betting Odds
by Victor Ryan - 10/10/2016

If you're looking to take a flyer on Stanley Cup futures bet long shot, why not the New York Islanders? It may be a year early, but this young and largely blue-collar, tight-knit group is coming off consecutive 100-point seasons and the franchise's first playoff series win since 1993.

NHL Odds and Expert Betting Picks: Season Preview and Analysis
by Alan Matthews - 10/7/2016

The NHL offseason feels shorter than any of the four major American sports leagues -- and it is by a little over the NBA -- but the chase for the Stanley Cup resumes already next week as the pick drops on the 2016-17 campaign Wednesday.

2016 Montreal Canadiens Expert Predictions with NHL Futures Betting Odds
by Victor Ryan - 10/7/2016

Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens is considered the best goalkeeper in the NHL, if not the world. On Nov. 25, Price went down for the season with an MCL sprain. The downfall of the Canadiens immediately followed. Montreal, which the year prior had posted a lofty 110 points in the regular season, opened a perfect 9-0-0 and was off to the quickest start in team history until Price's injury.

2016 Dallas Stars Expert Predictions with NHL Futures Betting Odds
by Victor Ryan - 10/6/2016

The Dallas Stars roared back to relevancy last season. After reaching the playoffs just once the previous six years (2013-14), the Stars topped the Western Conference last season with 109 points (50-23-9). That was followed by a second-round playoff exit to the second-seeded Blues in seven games, but make no mistake-this is a team rising quickly

2016 Chicago Blackhawks Expert Predictions with NHL Futures Betting Odds
by Victor Ryan - 10/5/2016

The Chicago Blackhawks have been the NHL's most successful franchise the past several years with Stanley Cup victories in 2010, 2013 and 2015. In last year's quest for a championship repeat, Chicago finished the regular season third in the Western Conference (47-26-9, 103 Pts) before being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the higher-seeded St. Louis Blues in a seven-game slugfest.

2016 Washington Capitals Expert Predictions with NHL Futures Betting Odds
by Victor Ryan - 10/5/2016

2015-16 was a banner season for the Washington Capitals-right up until the playoffs. The Capitals finished the regular season with easily (56-18-8, 120 Pts) the league's best record to add a President's Trophy to the collection, Barry Trotz won the Jack Adams Award as best coach and Braden Holtby took home the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie.

2016 Tampa Bay Lightning Expert Predictions with NHL Futures Betting Odds
by Victor Ryan - 10/5/2016

The time is now for the Tampa Bay Lightning. After reaching the Stanley Cup Finals two years ago and getting knocked out in the Eastern Conference finals last season, this is now a battle-tested unit still at the peak of its powers. Oddsmakers seem to agree. At 10-1, the Lightning are the co-second choice to win the Stanley Cup.

2016 San Jose Sharks Expert Predictions with NHL Futures Betting Odds
by Victor Ryan - 10/5/2016

The San Jose Sharks broke through their most immediate glass ceiling when finally reaching the Stanley Cup finals in 2016 after years of playoff heartbreak. The Sharks, which this decade have twice lost in the conference finals and also coughed up a 3-0 series lead in the first round as a No. 2 seed in 2014, finally shed the under-achieving label with hard-fought win in six games over the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference finals. San Jose fell to the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals 4-2.

2016 Los Angeles Kings Expert Predictions with NHL Futures Betting Odds
by Victor Ryan - 10/5/2016

Los Angeles appears to be a team in transition. Its two Stanley Cup-winning teams were big, powerful and outright imposing. That is still the case to some extent with its championship-winning core of Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty, Selke and Lady Byng winner Anze Kopitar, and All-Star goalie Jonathan Quick. But now Los Angeles is looking to instill more speed to its attack with fast-paced youngsters like Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson.

2016 Pittsburgh Penguins Expert Predictions with NHL Futures Betting Odds
by Victor Ryan - 10/4/2016

The defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins had little turnover to their roster this offseason. The only notable departures from last year's team, which provided Pittsburgh its first Stanley Cup since the 2008-09 season, were veteran defenseman Ben Lovejoy and backup goalkeeper Jeff Zatkoff (4-7, 2.79 GA). The loss of the productive Lovejoy would seem a hit, but coach Mike Sullivan has tabbed 2012 eighth-overall pick Derrick Pouliot as ready for action. Other than that, this is virtually the same team as a season ago.

NHL Futures Odds: Point Totals for New Season Released by Sportsbooks
by Alan Harris - 9/14/2016

Over the last two days, we took a look at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey that gets underway this weekend in Toronto, and now we have some more NHL odds to sink our teeth into before the season starts in early October. Our friends over at The Westgate Superbook have released their point totals for all 30 NHL teams, and they are listed below. We haven't dug too deep into these as we've been working on the World Cup, but we will get to them shortly and have a couple of free plays for you down the road.

2016 World Cup of Hockey Odds and Expert Betting Predictions Part 2
by Alan Harris - 9/13/2016

Yesterday we previewed the eight teams that will compete in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and at the end of our preview, we promised our futures pick on the team that we have played to win the tournament. So without further adieu, here is our prediction.

2016 World Cup of Hockey Odds and Expert Betting Predictions Part 1
by Alan Harris - 9/12/2016

The World Cup of Hockey has started exhibition games before the official start of the tournament so the players can get their legs under them before the round-robin stage gets under way on Sept. 17. The tournament, as usual, will feature eight teams, but there is a big difference in this edition compared to others.

NHL Hockey Odds and Picks: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 5/9/2016

Just one team entering Monday has reached the conference finals, and it's a club I didn't think would get there without two of its best players in center and captain Steven Stamkos and defenseman Anton Stralman: the Tampa Bay Lightning.

NHL Hockey Odds and Picks: Scouting the Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 5/2/2016

The Pittsburgh Penguins have overtaken the Washington Capitals as Bovada Eastern Conference favorites, with the Pens at +140 and Caps at +150 entering Monday's Game 3 of their tied series in the Steel City. Both are +375 to win the Stanley Cup.

Free NHL Picks: St. Louis Blues vs. Dallas Stars Second Round Preview
by Chris Vasile - 4/28/2016

St. Louis is definitely the more experienced team that has been down this road before. This year they finally managed to make it out of the first round and exercised some demons. It was a gruelling seven-game battle with Chicago, which could come back to haunt them in the second round.

Free NHL Picks: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals Second Round Preview
by Chris Vasile - 4/27/2016

No matter the sport, there will always be a pair of players seemingly intertwined and compared on a daily basis. Whether it was Magic and Bird or Kobe and LeBron in the NBA or Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa in the MLB or even Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in the NFL… The NHL is no different. It has been Crosby and Ovechkin since the start of the 21st century. And after a seven-year wait the media-built rivalry takes center stage in Round 2 of the NHL Playoffs.