The Vancouver Canucks cruised up the NHL betting
board this season and earned the top seed in the Western Conference, but it may
have backfired—they’ve drawn the defending-champion Chicago Blackhawks in the
first round of the playoffs. Vancouver (54-19-9) closed out the season with back-to-back wins despite having first place locked up. The Canucks have a fair amount of momentum heading into the postseason, as they’ve won seven of their past 10 games. As a result, they have 3/1 odds of winning the Stanley Cup. Some healthy bodies returned to the lineup recently, giving Vancouver the
best blue line in the NHL. The top pair was out as Alex Edler
had back surgery and Dan Hamhuis had a concussion, but both are
finally healthy and fired up. Throw in Sami Salo and
Keith Ballard, and Vancouver has a brilliant top four. Offensively, the Canucks are just as lucky. Five different players scored
50-plus points, including Daniel Sedin (104 points) and
Henrik Sedin (94 points). The twins were lights-out this season
and aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. Throw in All-Star goalie
Roberto Luongo, and Vancouver certainly has the best team—on
paper, at least. Chicago (44-29-9) is lucky to be here. The Blackhawks have been a huge
disappointment, and they almost missed the postseason only a year after winning
the Cup—the Hawks fell 4-3 to Detroit on Sunday and, if Dallas had won later in
the day, would have missed the playoffs. But the Blackhawks are still a very scary playoff contender. The top line of
Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and
Patrick Sharp is as good as any in the NHL. Chicago also boasts
a fantastic top defensive pairing in Brent Seabrook and
Duncan Keith. That duo will be incredibly important against
Vancouver, as they’ll need to slow down the Sedin twins. The biggest question is in goal, where rookie Corey Crawford
will make his first ever postseason appearance. Crawford has played well this
season, but the stakes will be higher than ever. If he falters, the team could
turn to veteran Marty Turco, who has lots of playoff experience
but is well past his prime. Vancouver and Chicago split their four games against each other this
season. Get all your NHL odds at
Bodog. Always know your odds.
| Kyle Hunter | |
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