Saturday 7 September 2013

What Happens at WBHockeyTalk, Stays at WBHockeyTalk

So I seen an interesting article showing the Vegas over/under odds for the next NHL season.  They predicted the point totals for all the teams.  I'm not a gambling person (because I'm awful at it), but its interesting to see predictions like this.

I made my own predictions a few months ago, if one would like to compare, go here. But for your convenience, I'll put my rank of the teams in parenthesis in these rankings.

Without further ado: (from CBSSports.com)


Metropolitan Division
Pittsburgh Penguins -- 108.5(1)
New York Rangers -- 98.5(3)
Washington Capitals -- 93.5(8)
Philadelphia Flyers -- 92.5(2)
New York Islanders -- 89.5(4)
Columbus Blue Jackets -- 85.5(7)
Carolina Hurricanes -- 84.5(6)
New Jersey Devils -- 79.5(5)

Really? Carolina AND Columbus ahead of New Jersey? I think New Jersey deserves much more credit than last here. Columbus is banking on a repeat performance from their young starter in Bobrovski. If Brodeur can't live up to expectations in New Jersey, Schneider surely will. Neither have a great team ahead of them, but NJ shouldn't be in the basement.  Also, I guess Washington warrants more love than I gave them. I want Ovie to succeed, but in this division he's going to have a difficult time getting open compared to when he regularly played against Florida, Tampa, and Winnipeg. Maybe I'm wrong though.

Atlantic Division
Boston Bruins -- 102.5(4)
Detroit Red Wings -- 97.5(1)
Toronto Maple Leafs -- 96.5(2)
Montreal Canadiens -- 94.5(3)
Ottawa Senators -- 93.5(5)
Tampa Bay Lightning -- 88.5(7)
Buffalo Sabres -- 83.5(6)
Florida Panthers -- 75.5(8)

Fairly close to mine, I'll take it.  I gave Boston less of a chance because they lost some key pieces this off-season.  But I think any team 1-4 has a good shot of winning the division this year.  This will easily be the most exciting division in hockey.  I think everyone can agree that Florida is the worst team in the division, Tampa Bay and Buffalo will struggle, and Ottawa will be one of the dark horse teams that could very well sneak into the playoffs.

Central Division
Chicago Blackhawks -- 105.5(1)
St. Louis Blues -- 99.5(2)
Minnesota Wild -- 94.5(4)
Colorado Avalanche -- 86.5(3)
Dallas Stars -- 86.5(5)
Nashville Predators -- 84.5(6)
Winnipeg Jets -- 82.5(7)

Besides switching Colorado and Minnesota, I pretty much called this division 100%, according to Vegas. Chicago should easily win the division, but it will be interesting to see how the rest of the division shapes up, because each team in here besides Chicago and Winnipeg are filled with question marks that will determine their season. This division could be flipped upside down by the end of the year.  I still think Winnipeg is missing a few parts to be a contender though.

Pacific Division
Los Angeles Kings -- 98.5(1)
Vancouver Canucks -- 95.5(2)
San Jose Sharks -- 94.5(3)
Anaheim Ducks -- 90.5(5)
Edmonton Oilers -- 89.5(4)
Phoenix Coyotes -- 85.5(6)
Calgary Flames -- 74.5(7)

Gah, so close again! Vegas switched Anaheim and Edmonton, putting them only 1 point apart. That's a fair assessment, both teams are young with lots of firepower that could have an excellent season or fizzle out if not handled correctly. LA should win the division this year, but Vancouver has a good enough team to keep close. Unfortunately, Flames fans are once again given the bad news for next year by being predicted to have the lowest point total in the league.  Embarrassing, but probably accurate. 

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