Articles by Cappers Picks related to online NHL hockey betting, and handicapping live NHL matchups.
The NHL season is about to enter the stretch run. Some teams are positioning themselves well heading into the most important part of the year while others are sputtering at precisely the wrong time. Get weekly NHL Handicapping tips from CappersPicks.com.
The All-Star break is over and most teams are settling in for the stretch drive in the NHL. It is time to take a look at the favorites for the 2012 Stanley Cup – who is a safe bet and who may surprise.
The Vancouver Canucks will be aiming for their second win in less than a week over their southern rival San Jose Sharks when the two teams tangle on Monday night in Vancouver.
Columbus Blue Jackets fans are brimming with optimism entering the 2011-12 season. The Jackets made one of the offseason’s biggest splashes, acquiring Jeff Carter from the Flyers. They also signed defenseman James Wisniewski to a big deal.
After falling just short in the Stanley Cup final a year ago, the Vancouver Canucks will fight for another chance at hockey’s ultimate prize, beginning their quest for redemption in the Northwest division.
After falling short of heightened expectations a year ago, the Los Angeles Kings made a couple of key offseason moves that should put them in contention to compete with the San Jose Sharks for the Pacific division crown this season.
After three straight years of hosting the Western Conference champions, the Central division sent three teams to the 2011 NHL playoffs once again, but none of them could made it past the second round. The Detroit Red Wings clinched the top spot in the division with 104 points, but both the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks were right behind them.
The Nashville Predators are without a doubt the Rodney Dangerfield of the NHL. They get no respect. They’re written off as an expansion team in a non-hockey market with a boring gameplan and weak fan support.
Perhaps the most complete team in the NHL a year ago, the Boston Bruins proved they had the depth to overcome significant injuries that would have crippled other teams on their way to clinching a Stanley Cup.
With the majority of their core set to return, the Bruins will look to repeat in a Northeast Division that is expected to be improved overall.
Their toughest challenge in getting back to the top could come from their biggest rivals, the Montreal Canadiens.
On The Rise: Montreal Canadiens
It is easy to forget it now, but the Canadiens actually forced Boston to a seventh game in their opening round series, with the Bruins clinching three of their four wins in overtime.
That was without a healthy Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges, and Max Pacioretty, and in addition to all three of those players expected to return healthy, Montreal also added winger Erik Cole to help bolster their scoring.
With a talented young nucleus that includes goaltender Carey Price and defenseman P.K. Subban looking to take another step forward, the Canadiens have the talent to be a legitimate contender in the Eastern conference if they can put it all together this year.
There may not be another division in the NHL with more uncertainty heading in to the season than the Atlantic, where all five teams are in the midst of transition.
Hockey fans in Winnipeg are thrilled to have an NHL franchise back in town, but the euphoria that has taken over the city could be tempered by a couple of Eastern Conference contenders that will look to make sure that the Jets’ return flight isn’t a smooth one.
The St. Louis Blues have settled in as that perennially hyped team of youngsters, projected to break out every year but never doing so. They had a cup of coffee in the 2009 playoffs, when they were swept by Vancouver in four games, but haven’t sniffed the postseason since. It’s time to ask, once again: this is the year?
After winning the Stanley Cup in 2009-10, the Chicago Blackhawks crawled into the eighth playoff seed on the final day of the 2010-11 regular season. We all understood why they regressed; totally maxed out with their salary cap, they traded away half their team.
Sigh. Do I really have to write a new Detroit Red Wings preview?
I should just use a template. Nothing changes. Two years ago or one year ago, the Red Wings had an ageless wonder on “D” in Nicklas Lidstrom, two of the game’s best all-around players in Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom, a bonecrushing hitter in Niklas Kronwall, and a rising star goaltender in Jimmy Howard. Guess what?
Arguably, there was no busier team this offseason than the Florida Panthers in terms of sheer volume. General manager Dale Tallon got busy, acquiring Jose Theodore, Brian Campbell, Ed Jovanovski, Scottie Upshall, Tomas Kopecky, Tomas Fleischmann, Kris Versteeg and Sean Bergenheim.
In the light of ownership issues and the departure of Dallas’s best player via free agency, GM Joe Nieuwendyk had plenty of work to do this offseason – none of it all that appealing. The Dallas Stars chore now – just remain competitive.
