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Top Five Stanley Cup Favorites

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Top Five Stanley Cup Favorites

Offshore sportsbook sharps who wager on futures have to keep a close eye on the

oddsmakers throughout each season of every sport. In the NHL, for example, thetop-five Stanley Cup favorites get shuffled every week as teams get hot and cold.Here’s a look at the current top five at most books.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins (+500)

BOOM: They’re the defending champs, so it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to knowthey have excellent hockey odds. Any team with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkinwill compete every season; it also helps that Marc-Andre Fleury has established

himself as a big-game goalie. And does any team get more from its checkingforwards than Pittsburgh does?

BUST: It’s the Crosby/Malkin show but Pittsburgh’s offensive depth isn’t great. Aninjury to either of the Dynamic Duo would almost certainly derail the Pens’ Cuphopes, especially since they compete with some deep offensive teams in the East.

2. Detroit Red Wings (+500)

BOOM: I have to be honest – I think the oddsmakers are mistaken here. The Wingsare the top favorites for the same reason the Patriots were in NFL betting at thestart of the season: pedigree. Detroit wins or contends every season, so peopleexpect them to be there come June.

BUST: Factoring in Johan Franzen’s serious knee injury, four of Detroit’s top six goalscorers from last season are gone, as Marian Hossa, Jiri Hudler and MikaelSamuelsson bolted for free agency. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg can’t do itall on their own, especially since they take on so much defensive responsibility.

3. San Jose Sharks (+600)

BOOM: If you’re the type who gets swayed by the flashing lights of slot machines ina casino, you’re probably all over the Sharks right now, as Dany Heatley’s early-

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season numbers are eye-popping. The Sharks will score a lot, prevent a lot of goalsand win tons of regular-season games.

BUST: Come crunch time, the Sharks still don’t have many proven winners on their

roster. Evgeni Nabokov became a sieve against the Ducks last April and Joe Thornton disappears more than David Copperfield come playoff time. Sadly forSharks fans, Heatley has a similar track record. He did have 22 points in 20 gamesduring the Sens’ Stanley Cup run in 2007 but he had just seven goals after topping50 in the regular season.

4. Chicago Blackhawks (+700)

BOOM: The Hawks are young, fast and perhaps deeper than any team in the

Western Conference. They’re far more than just Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.Supporting forwards like Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien areimportant parts of the offense and the Hawks have a phenomenal young bluelinequartet in Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Cam Barker and Brian Campbell. Did Imention they still have Marian Hossa waiting in the wings?

BUST: It’s safe to say Chicago shed the “inexperience” tag last year after reachingthe conference final, but goaltending is a question mark. Cristobal Huet may not becut out for full-time duty.

5. Washington Capitals (+700)

BOOM: Goals, goals and more goals! I’m betting management giggles with gleewhen it sees its on-ice product, which may be the most exciting in the NHL.Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom are simply dazzlingoffensively. The Caps are still probably the NHL’s most explosive attackers.

BUST: Among the top contending sports picks, the Caps are easily the least

balanced team. They lack depth on defense after Mike Green, and even Greenfunctions more like a freelancing fourth forward than a D-man. The Caps also lack aclear-cut No. 1 goalie unless one of Jose Theodore and Sergei Varlamov assertshimself.