• New Jersey Devils – This offseason, the Devils were quite busy. Longtime blue liner Paul Martin left the Devils but was soon replaced by two of the league’s premier defensemen in Anton Volchenkov and Henrik Tallinder.

Volchenkov gives Devils fans a reason for optimism after the loss of Martin. Volchenkov instantly helps the penalty kill for the Devils and his stay at home shot blocking philosophy will make him an instant favorite in New Jersey. The Devils have sorely lacked a puck moving defenseman since Brian Rafalski left for Detroit a few years ago. Nevertheless Henrik Tallinder will provide some good movement on a power play marred by forwards. Finally, with Johan Hedberg backing up Marty Brodeur, the Devils finally have a backup who can give them at least 30 games. Meaning to say Brodeur should be able to push the Devils along on an extended playoff run.

• New York Islanders – This offseason the Islanders were unable to lock up a premier forward to help John Tavares and Kyle Okopso with the scoring load. Instead rather, they picked up five players, three forwards and two defensemen. With the acquisitions of Zenon Konopka and Jeremy Yablonski, the Islanders expect to be in a lot of fights this season. Yet those fights won’t be for a playoff spot as they continue to rebuild.

• New York Rangers –The Rangers were busy this offseason, finally adding some secondary scoring and a backup goaltender. The two other moves the club made, adding enforcer Derek Boogaard and Jeremy Williams left us scratching our heads.

The two positive moves included adding star LA Kings winger Alexander Frolov and goalie Martin Biron. We really like the Biron move, in that the Rangers have finally got a competent backup for star Henrik Lundqvist. Similar to the Devils move with Hedberg, Biron provides at least 35 games of rest of for King Henrik.

• Philadelphia Flyers – After losing in the Stanley Cup final in June, the Flyers went out and bolstered their blue line. However, Philadelphia wouldn’t be Philadelphia if they did not go out and buy an enforcer either.

After a year off in the KHL, Alexander Zherdev made long time Flyer Simon Gagne expendable. The question remains, will Zherdev be a key ingredient or flaw to the Flyer chemistry.

• Pittsburgh Penguins – After letting long time power play quarterback Sergei Gonchar leave for Ottawa, the Penguins went out and got Paul Martin and Zbyenek Michalek to bolster the blue line. Both are stay at home types, but also provide enough movement to make the power play at least bearable.

College football betting

Eastern Conference
Seventh-seeded Philadelphia came out of the East last year, but that won’t happen again. Washington and Pittsburgh ran into a hot Montreal team in the playoffs, and one of those teams will represent the East in the Cup finals this year. The Capitals will be out to prove they’re not the East version of the Sharks, while we think Sindey Crosby and a few other Penguins were tired from the Olympics (although that’s no excuse). If we had to choose, we’d take Pittsburgh’s goaltending.

Western Conference
Never again should anyone bet on San Jose….ever. The West will be fought between Chicago, who lost a few players from their Cup-winning team, and Vancouver, who need to add a second line to their team. But don’t count out a resurgent Detroit, who were arguably the best team in the league over the second half of the regular season.

Stanley Cup
We think Pittsburgh and Detroit will meet in the Cup final for the third time in four seasons, as the Red Wings have experience, and Jimmy Howard will be sharper in goal. The Red Wings will win this last Stanley Cup, ending this Nicklas Lidstrom-led dynasty, and it wouldn’t be surprising if you could get great sports betting odds for them at the start of the year.

Although the Stanley Cup was officially created in 1893, the idea for a hockey trophy was thought of a year earlier by Lord Stanley, as along with his family, they fell in love with the game of hockey in 1889 after attending a winter festival in Montreal. Stanley believed that a championship cup trophy should be played for annually, with the top team having the honour of having their team name, player’s names and ownership engraved on the trophy.

Some of the traditions regarding the Stanley Cup, along with engraving ones name on it after winning, also include the championship being playing in a series in the beginning of June, as well as the winning team being allotted 100 days to keep the Cup. As noted above the winning club has their names engraved on the cup to prove that they were the champions of the specific year they won. Secondly, the Stanley Cup is awarded to the winning team in the beginning of June after two month playoff tournament, between the top 16 teams in the league who qualified after the regular season. Thirdly, after the Stanley Cup is won, players from the winning team are given 100 days to hold onto the trophy and display it to family and friends in their hometowns. After the 100 days are up, the following season begins with the defending Stanley Cup champions competing against the other teams for another chance to win the most prestigious trophy.

The hockey betting celebrations on the ice continued for over an hour, and included the presentation of the Conn Smythe trophy to Jonathan Toews, who was awarded as the Most Valuable Player to this team during these playoffs. Toews finished the postseason with 29 points in 22 games, which would have been good for the league lead if the Flyers’ Daniel Briere didn’t register three points in the loss to overtake the 22-year old captain on the final night. Perhaps more relieved than any of his teammates was Chicago winger Marian Hossa, who after consecutive years of reaching the cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, was finally able to hoist the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks, where he signed a multi-year deal in the offseason.

The last time the Lightning won the Stanley Cup was in 2004, six years ago. Since then, the team has struggled both on and off the ice, as current owner Vinik is the team’s third owner since 2008. On the ice, the team has accumulated the worst overall record in that three year time frame. As a result of such poor performances on the ice, the team has drafted Steven Stamkos first overall in 2008, Victor Hedman second overall in 2009, and at this year’s draft, they will be drafting fifth overall.  Yzerman inherits a team in Tampa Bay that on paper has many fans, general managers and coaches licking their chops. With Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Stamkos, Hedman, Ryan Malone, Steve Downie, and Mike Smith as the core of the team, many have pondered how this team is a basement dweller instead of a dynasty? Lightning fans watch out, with Yzerman at the helm, this is the greatest thing to happen since the 2004 Stanley Cup victory.

Sedin was one of the top point producing players in the league for the 2009-2010 season, and much of the NHL betting regarding the Canucks revolved around Sedin’s performance. The award would symbolically go to Henrik and his brother Daniel since the two are an inseparable pair, but the case for a Sedin win in the Hart Trophy race is compelling. The Penguins can win without Crosby and the Capitals can win without Ovechkin, but without the Sedins the Canucks are a much less potent team.

The exciting game seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens marked the last game played in Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena. It is the only home the Penguins have ever known. Throughout its history it has been called the Civic Arena and earned the nickname “The Igloo” from its rounded dome roof that used to be able to open. The Penguins could not send the Mellon Arena off on a winning note, but they begin next season in a brand new home right next door to their old stomping ground.

Rumors are swirling in Detroit that Chris Osgood may be dealt away during the off-season. Now that the Red Wings have their starting goalie in Jimmy Howard, there is no longer room on the roster for two starters. It is unclear if Osgood will wait to be moved, or if he will retire.

In the Eastern Conference quarter-finals the Canadiens exploited the Washington Capitals’ one weakness; the Caps do not play as a team. The Canadiens were able to remain a rock solid unit as the Caps’ superstars buzzed around them. But the Penguins play as a solid team as well. Pittsburgh is all about shots on goal and bringing offense to the opposing team’s goaltender. The Penguins goaltending has been inconsistent in these playoffs with Marc-Andre Fleury, but to this point that has not been a major problem.

The Canadiens are riding the back of goaltender Jaroslav Halak, who held the Capitals to only two goals in the last three games of their first round series. Halak is an acrobatic goaltender that can be caught out of position sometimes, but he has the ability to recover.

In this series the Penguins will test the patience of Halak, and see if he is able to maintain his position in goal even with activity going on around him. They will pass the puck more than Halak ever saw in the Washington series, and they will shoot just as much.

The Canadiens will be relentless in their attack on Pittsburgh. They will make the Penguins pay for every battle in the corners, and when the Canadiens see an opening to get out of their zone they will take it. If Fleury is shaky in this series, then that could spell trouble for the Penguins.

Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins in 6

Well the playoffs are finally here; so what are the most exciting match ups to look out for.

Washington Capitals vs Montreal Canadiens

There seems to be little doubt that Washington will win this series. They are a heavy favorite going in and for good reason. Their offense looks unstoppable, and what hockey fan doesn’t like offense.

The series promises to showcase goals, goals, and some more goals. Montreal simply lacks the tools to stop Washington. Their only hope is for Halak to try and keep it close.

Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes

Both teams surprised their fans this year; Phoenix by making the playoffs in style and Detroit by having to contend to make it. Will Phoenix’s Cinderella story continue? Or will the seasoned champions find their previous form?

The online sportsbook has Detroit as the slight favorites for game one. The truth is, this one is very difficult to predict. Will Phoenix’s fighting spirit prevail or will Detroit’s experience prove to be the defining factor?

Detroit seems to have really pulled it together in the last portion of the season. They are experienced, healthy, and on a winning streak. This series will most likely go the distance, but Detroit should find a way to get into the second round.

Chicago Blackhawks vs Nashville Predators

The Blackhawks are the heavy favorites going into this one. In fact, EA Sports predicts them to win the Stanley Cup. However, the Predators will not go down easy. Nashville understand the meaning of team and will come together to give Chicago a decent run.

Young Chicago seems to have it all this year. They bring youth, skill, and last year’s playoff experience, where Detroit beat them in the conference finals. The one downside is Brian Campbell is still injured and is not expected back until late in the second round.

NHL playoff odds are favoring Chicago, and for good reason. The Blackhawks should win this series, and with Campbell back in the second round, they have a great chance this year to go all the way.

Although several teams made moves to improve their rosters, others failed to make deals to address areas of weakness.

Among the most notable NHL trade day winners is the Los Angeles Kings.

Seated in fourth place in the Western conference at the deadline, the Kings weren’t expected to contend for a playoff spot in the west so soon. However with that a legitimate possibility with just 20 games left in the regular season, the Kings added some key veteran pieces on trade deadline day in Jeff Halpern and Fred Modin. What’s more impressive is it cost the Kings no higher than a third-round draft pick to make the desired moves.

Another team that wasn’t expected to contend for a playoff spot out west so soon was the Phoenix Coyotes. The Coyotes acquired some offensive pieces at the deadline adding Wojtek Wolski from Colorado and Lee Stempniak from Toronto.

Although they made their deals before the deadline day, the Pittsburgh Penguins also made significant moves to improve their roster, acquiring a top-six forward in winger Alex Ponikarovsky and a depth defenseman in Jordon Leopold while losing no pieces that will hinder the team in the immediate future.

The Carolina Hurricanes, ranked fourteenth overall in the East heaing into deadline day, did an excellent job compiling draft picks and prospects in a rebuilding effort.

Capitals vs Sabres odds – Wednesday, March 3, 7:00 PM ET

The Capitals lost three straight before the break, and that came after a 14-game winning streak, so the break probably came at a good time. Ovchekin and Alex Semin are coming back from a disappointing run in Vancouver as their Russian team was blasted 7-3 by Canada in the quarterfinals, so they could be eager to back on the horse in the NHL.

The Sabres have a tough return to NHL play, heading to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night (although Miller won’t have to face Sidney Crosby, who scored the game-winning goal for Canada against Miller in the gold-medal game), and then Washington. The Sabres aren’t an offensive juggernaut, and there’s a lot of pressure on Miller, but he’s used to it after the last two weeks.

The Sabres should be favored at home, as all three games that the Capitals lost before the break came on the road. These two have met three times this season, twice in Washington, and the home team has won all three games. Miller will get a huge ovation at home on Wednesday, and that could spark the crowd to get behind the Sabres, who are battling with Ottawa in the Northeast Division. Meanwhile, the Capitals still have problems in goal.

NHL betting pick: Buffalo