2018 NHL Stanley Cup Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Analysis

by Trevor Whenham - 5/11/2018

And then there were four. With Winnipeg's lopsided Game 7 win at Nashville, the Conference Final matchups have been set in the NHL. The four teams are pretty much as separated geographically, and in some ways stylistically, as they could be. Both series have the potential to be great. The two best pure goalscorers in the league going head-to-head in the East, and two upstart teams that no one could have seen coming in the West. Only one can survive, of course, and that's what we are here for - to find some value in Stanley Cup futures (odds are from Bovada ):

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Winnipeg Jets (+240): The Nashville Predators, the team that won the President's Trophy for top regular-season team in the league, was strong at home all year, and last year their incredible crowd was a deciding factor in their run to the Cup finals. Winnipeg just beat Nashville three times in Nashville in one series. That is just incredible, and it shows how tough and how dialed in this team is right now. They are getting great goaltending, they are scary going four lines deep, the defense is sound, they are playing with great confidence, and they shake off poor performances like they never happened. This is a dangerous, dangerous team, and they are going to lose in the Stanley Cup finals to Tampa Bay. And the success-starved residents of Winnipeg will very likely burn the city to the ground somewhere along the way.

Vegas Golden Knights (+310): I respect everything about this team - nothing more than the way they totally dismantled San Jose in the second round. But they are running in very deep water now, and they don't have the experience to draw on. Neither does Winnipeg for that matter, but the Jets have both an edge in depth and home-ice advantage. Marc-Andre Fleury has the potential to be the difference in their city, but he's been off for a long time since the last series, and that's a concern in terms of rust. I've been expecting this team's carriage to turn into a pumpkin for a long time now, and that hasn't gone well for me just yet, but I still can't shake the feeling that this truly incredible run by this team has finally almost run the course. I won't be particularly surprised by anything from this team at this point, but I still don't think they are as good as Winnipeg or Tampa.

Tampa Bay Lightning (+190): When I last made Stanley Cup predictions right before the playoffs started I stuck with the Lightning as my pick because I had been with them all year, but I didn't feel very comfortable in that. They had coasted their way to the end of the season, and they looked vulnerable - like a team that needed to shift gears in the playoffs and may not be able to. I didn't need to worry. The team has been truly dominant through two rounds. The core of this team runs deep, and they are playing better than they ever have as a group. That's a scary proposition for the other teams. Tampa Bay has gone from my lukewarm favorites to my heavy ones. Tampa Bay is the -180 favorite to win the series against Washington, and that price feels accurate. Tampa Bay is my pick to win the Stanley Cup, and I don't feel uneasy about that anymore.

Washington Capitals (+350): The Capitals finally got a King Kong-sized monkey off their backs by beating the Penguins after a seemingly endless string of playoff setbacks. It's the first time that Alex Ovechkin has made the conference finals - incredible given that he may be the best pure goal scorer in league history. But I suspect that this is where it all ends for him and his team. The biggest concern is an emotional letdown. After a series win like that it can be easy for a team to feel like they have already accomplished what they had to get done - especially when the team is one like this that doesn't have a long history of being emotionally stable when the pressure intensifies. Washington obviously has talent, but they aren't as deep as Tampa Bay is, and their goaltending is tougher to trust right now than would be ideal. I don't think Washington is good enough to beat the Lightning, and even if they did they wouldn't be good enough to beat whichever team wins the West. In the hierarchy of remaining teams, I put Washington at the bottom of the pile.

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Start:	May 21, 2018 @ 8:05 PM
Expert:	Scott Spreitzer
Offered at:	BookMaker
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2018 NHL Stanley Cup Predictions with Futures Odds and Expert Analysis

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