For all the Stanley Cup picks hype we saw for teams like San Jose, Detroit and Pittsburgh last season, two different teams had the top records down the stretch: Vancouver and St. Louis. Their hockey odds were long written off halfway through the year but they rallied from improbable odds to become contenders.

The big question is – who will play that role this season? What slow starter will make a second-half charge? Here are a few teams to consider when thinking about the stretch run and which teams will surprise in the hockey betting world. Notice the familiar faces.

Boston Bruins

The defense is already fixed – they’re a top-five defensive team in the NHL – but we just need to see the offense come back. Marc Savard will spread the wealth and make others around him better but the Bruins may need to acquire a forward before making a big run.

Vancouver Canucks

Yes, folks – the Canucks may be this year’s, er, Canucks. They faded into the background with a relatively slow start but Roberto Luongo is catching fire and Daniel Sedin is back from his broken foot. The Canucks could get hot and start crushing teams like they did last year during their hot streak.

Anaheim Ducks

Should we really give up on them this quickly? They still have an amazing top line with Perry/Getzlaf/Ryan and some good secondary scoring. If Scott Niedermayer had some help on the back end, these guys would climb back up the standings.

St. Louis Blues

This one’s the biggest long shot. Even though the Blues were the NHL’s best second-half team last year, they were ahead of schedule. This is still a young team that has a lot to learn and hasn’t developed a true No. 1 scoring threat yet. They could come together but next year is more likely.