What are nhl hockey playoffs betting predictions?

Question

NHL playoff matches prediction have started to appear. As many NHL betting experts are mulling over the coming NHL playoff matches. Can you help me know what are nhl hockey playoffs betting predictions?

Answer 1

It is a critical time in the NHL season, and we have already started painting this years playoff picture. Take a look at who's in the runnings for this year's Stanley Cup.


The folks in Raleigh did a great job hosting the All-Star Game this year, but now we’re on the road to bigger and better things: the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s going to be a fight just to get in, too. Anyone in the Western Conference except for the Edmonton Oilers has a shot at the postseason. And even though there are a few more stragglers in the East (the New Jersey Devils being the worst offenders), the battle for the last few playoff seeds should go down to the wire.
That doesn’t mean all these teams are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. Those extra points they hand out for overtime losses are skewing the standings toward parity. Take the Atlanta Thrashers, for instance. They’re in eighth place in the East at 24-19-9, which looks like a competent record, but they’ve also been outscored 166-152 on the season. They don’t have the defense to have a realistic shot at the Cup.
The top favorites have very few flaws to speak of. Leading the charge going into the unofficial season half of the season are the Vancouver Canucks, who lead the West at 31-10-9. As you can see on our NHL Hockey Defensive Rankings page, the Canucks are fourth overall in the league at 2.4 goals allowed per game. They’re also third in offense at 3.3 goals per game – a winning combination.
But not all is well in Vancouver. Alexander Edler, arguably the team’s best defenseman this year, is out with a herniated disk and could miss the rest of the season following surgery. Edler leads all Vancouver Canucks blueliners with 32 points and 24:24 of ice time per game, playing on both the man advantage and the penalty kill. Those minutes will be difficult to replace; perhaps Vancouver GM Mike Gillis can find an able body by the February 28 trade deadline.
The Edler injury could open the door for one of the hottest teams in the league – and still a bargain on the Stanley Cup futures market. The Dallas Stars have won six of their last eight games to move into first place in the Pacific Division at 30-15-5. Their offseason decision to let Marty Turco walk and hand the No. 1 goalie job to Kari Lehtonen (.917 save percentage) has been validated so far. We’ll see if Lehtonen can handle Vancouver’s offense when these two teams meet Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center. The Canucks have outscored Dallas 11-2 in a pair of victories this season.
The Stanley Cup race is even tighter in the Eastern Conference. The Pittsburgh Penguins (31-15-4) and the Philadelphia Flyers (33-12-5) are the leading Cup contenders, with Philadelphia sitting in first place in the standings and Pittsburgh not far behind in fourth. The Penguins have been anxiously awaiting the return of captain Sidney Crosby (32 goals in 41 games), who has missed the last nine games due to a concussion, but Pittsburgh has won five of six to remain among the Eastern elite. The Pens have a big game Tuesday night against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden; Evgeni Malkin (15 goals in 42 games) could also sit out with a sinus infection.
As for the Flyers, they’re remarkably healthy going into the second half of the season. They lead the NHL in scoring at 3.5 goals per game, and rookie Sergei Bobrovsky (.920 SV%) has won his last six starts. Bobrovsky should get the nod again Tuesday night when the Flyers visit the 31-15-5 Tampa Bay Lightning, winners of their last five games to improve to 8-4 since trading for goaltender Dwayne Roloson (.918 SV%).