Both players have revitalized franchises and hockey markets that looked bleak, both are argued about as to who is the best player in the world, both have tons of hardware already at young ages and the two are the center piece for the best rivalry in hockey. So all eyes are on the Pittsburgh Penguins and their star Sydney Crosby and the Washington Capitals and their star Alexander Ovechkin.
While the Penguins are defending champions, the Capitals seem to be the team to beat.
Stanley Cup Odds: Washington Capitals +300
The Washington Capitals captured the President’s Trophy as the team with the best regular season record (54-15-13 for 121 points) and online sportsbook have them as the odds-on to win it all at +300.
The Caps open the 2010 postseason campaign with a series against the Montreal Canadiens.
While Alexander Ovechkin and his troops nearly averaged four goals a game — 3.82 to be exact — they ranked 16th in goals against, allowing close to three a game (2.77).
Pundits are looking at goaltending as the Caps possible weak spot heading into the playoffs.
While Caps goalie Jose Theodore had a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 2.81, he went 30-7-7 with a save percentage of .911 this season.
In fact, in Theodore’s last 20 games, he is 17-3 SU.
Even if Theodore falters (like he did last postseason), the Capitals do have Semyon Varlamov who went 15-4-6 with a .909 save percentage and GAA of 2.55 during the 2009/10 campaign.
More importantly, Varlamov proved himself in the playoffs last year backstopping Washington to a series win against the New York Rangers before succumbing in seven games to the eventual champion Penguins in the second-round.
Betting Action: SPORTSBETTING.com is reporting the early action has been steady on Washington, with the Capitals currently holding 31% of all the volume wagered on the option “Who will win the Stanley Cup”.
Check out all the NHL Betting odds.
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