The NHL season is but a week old, but some early trends are already developing, trends that could be profitable. The Ottawa Senators are a perfect 4-0 straight up to give them early bragging rights atop the Eastern Conference. That's no big surprise, but did anyone see the Washington Capitals as the early challenger to the Sens?
Just because the NHL season is only a week old doesn’t mean there aren’t lessons to be learned. Getting a handle on early trends can help you pad your bankroll before the public wises up and faces the music. While what you’re about to read could be turned on its head in a week’s time, there’s some definite value in what’s happened on the ice in the first week of action.
The Senators are for real
This seems obvious, because the Sens are a perennial powerhouse, but hockey bettors need only remember Ottawa’s brutal start last season to remember that the Sens aren’t always great out of the gate.
Anyone who attended or caught any type of extended glimpse of the Senators’ wins against the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils knows that Ottawa means business this season. In the Sens’ 2-0 victory over the Blueshirts on Saturday night, Ottawa dispelled any thoughts that the Rangers are ready to challenge them for supremacy in the Eastern Conference.
While the Rangers can certainly ice two great forward lines with Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury lacing them up, they’ll need to improve on the back end in order to compete with the Sens.
Wade Redden, Chris Phillips and the rest of Ottawa’s defense is so fast and mobile that it makes it impossible to sustain any type of pressure against them. Bettors would be wise to hop on the Senators before oddsmakers suck all the value out of them in a few weeks.
Capital gains?
While it’s no surprise that the Senators are already the class of the East, no one could have guessed that the Washington Capitals would be right at their heels.
Returning to the red, white and blue jerseys from the days of Mike Gartner, Rod Langway and slap-shot-on-a-breakaway man Al Iafrate, the Caps have posted a clean 3-0-0-0 record to start the season.
The strong start has Washington backers up 4.1 units as the Caps defeated Atlanta, Carolina and the New York Islanders as underdogs in two of those contests. The key for the Capitals has been their strong defensive play in front of underrated netminder Olaf Kolzig. Washington played under in all three wins, allowing only two goals against.
Another factor in Washington’s quick start has to be attributed to its offseason acquisitions. Center Michael Nylander gives Alexander Ovechkin a wingman as good and fast as Cal Naughton Jr., while defenseman Tom Poti solidifies a defensive corps that desperately needs leadership.
The extent to which the Capitals have improved remains to be seen, but it certainly seems as though betting the Caps could cash some serious dividends for hockey bettors.
Trouble in paradise
Not that the Ducks’ general manager is ever peaches and cream, but Brian Burke must be ready to blow a gasket after Anaheim’s lackluster start to the season.
To be fair to the Ducks, they played two games in England to start the season, where they split with the Los Angeles Kings. Since returning to North America, Anaheim has met up with two solid opponents in the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. All told, the Ducks have kicked off the defense of their Stanley Cup crown with a stiff 1-3-0-1 record, while going 3-2 ATS.
Optimists will point to the fact that the Ducks are tired after being overseas, and that they’ve dropped a pair of games by one goal. There’s more to this than that, however.
Anaheim is riddled with injuries, with goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, center Samuel Pahlsson and defenseman Mathieu Schneider all on injured reserve. Add to this the fact that Teemu Selanne and 2007 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Scott Niedermayer are sitting poolside contemplating whether to return for another run at a Cup, and you can see that the Ducks are a long way from being last season’s squad.
This might be just what the doctored ordered for Ducks bettors, as fewer wins will surely reduce the price on the defending champs.