Exclusive Sportsbook Bonus Offer (With Credit Card Deposits)
Massive 100% Signup Bonus (1K Max) @ JustBet: Click Here For Info

The chase for the playoffs are getting tighter and tighter as the 2012 NHL schedule wears on. Here at Bankroll Sports, we are taking a look at the best teams in the league and the ones that have the best shot of getting the job done and beating the 2012 Stanley Cup odds.

The team that still doesn’t seem to be getting the respect that it deserves this season is the New York Rangers (Current 2012 Stanley Cup Odds: 10 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook). There is no doubt that they have one of the best goalies in the game in Henrik Lundqvist, a man that is probably well on his way to the Vezina Trophy this season. However, the real difference this year was the addition of Brad Richards. Though Richards is not one of the two men on this team with at least 20 goals (those titles go to Marian Gaborik and Ryan Callahan), he is clearly the difference maker from last year’s team which struggled to support the Swedish goalie in spite of his double digits worth of shutouts and the one this year that is a middle of the road offensive team. Middle of the road is all that you need to be come playoff time, especially if you are going to be riding a hot goalie as the Rangers surely will be. They are certainly going to be in the Top 2 seeds this year in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and they are already seven points clear of the top spot in the conference as of this publication (2/13/12).

Out West though, the Detroit Red Wings (Odds To Win the Stanley Cup: 8 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook) seem to really be getting disrespected as well. They have won 20 straight games at home, tying an NHL record, and it is clear if they get home ice advantage in a series that they are going to take the utmost advantage of that. Yes, there is still the issue of holding off some of the other great teams in the Central Division, especially since four of them are going to likely be in the playoffs this year, but in the end, this is almost exactly like the Rangers. The Wings have a tremendous goalie in Jimmy Howard, who is also going to be a finalist for the Vezina Trophy in all likelihood, yet the offense is even more potent than that of the boys from the Big Apple. If the Red Wings can just open up a bit of a cushion in the division, we would feel a heck of a lot better about supporting them on the odds to win the Stanley Cup.

List Of Previous Stanley Cup Champions (Since 2000)
2011 Stanley Cup Champions – Boston Bruins
2010 Stanley Cup Champions – Chicago Blackhawks
2009 Stanley Cup Champions – Pittsburgh Penguins
2008 Stanley Cup Champions – Detroit Red Wings
2007 Stanley Cup Champions – Anaheim Ducks
2006 Stanley Cup Champions – Carolina Hurricanes
2005 Stanley Cup Champions – None, Labor Dispute
2004 Stanley Cup Champions – Tampa Bay Lightning
2003 Stanley Cup Champions – New Jersey Devils
2002 Stanley Cup Champions – Detroit Red Wings
2001 Stanley Cup Champions – Colorado Avalanche
2000 Stanley Cup Champions – New Jersey Devils

Aside from these two teams, there might not be all that many fantastic sides that we want to back. We think that all of the value is gone in the St. Louis Blues at just 12 to 1, and the oddsmakers have seemingly caught up to the rest of the good teams in the league, as others like the Washington Capitals who might not even make the playoffs lose all of their value. That being said, as we have seen in recent years, anything can happen if a team gets into the postseason, and for that reason, we are going to take some shots in the dark on teams that are probably a heck of a lot better than their current records suggest. We’ll start with the Montreal Canadiens (Odds To Win the 2012 NHL Championship: 100 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook). Carey Price is a goalie that we have seen catch fire easily in the past, and though his team is still quite a ways outside of the playoffs right now, his team is hot, having won four in a row, and there are just seven points separating the Habs and the last playoff spot. We still don’t think that the Ottawa Senators are going to be able to hang in there, and we aren’t so sure about teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Pittsburgh Penguins either. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Montreal in the second season, and we have seen the team do some great things once it has gotten there in years past.

The same type of statement could be made about the Tampa Bay Lightning (Odds To Win The Stanley Cup: 80 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook). The Bolts don’t have the goaltending that the rest of the East seems to have. In fact, Dwayne Roloson and Mathieu Garon have been train wrecks to say the least… But, we can’t ever count out an offense that features Vincent LeCavalier, Martin St. Louis, and most importantly, Steven Stamkos. The Lightning have two strikes to be able to get into the playoffs this year. They could get into the back end of the postseason as a wild card, which they are eight points back, or they can just run down the rest of the herd in the Southeast Division, which might be the easier task. There are plenty of divisional games left and more importantly plenty of home games left for a team that plays tremendously well on its own ice, but horribly on others.

The ultimate coup right now though is taking the Anaheim Ducks (Stanley Cup Odds: 300 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook). We knew that it was only going to be a matter of time until the Quack Attack figured out how to get back on track, and we are seeing just that happen. Head Coach Bruce Boudreau knows what he is doing, and now that the team has gotten used to him and his ways, points are starting to tally up. Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Teemu Selanne, and the rest of this offense has a slew of potential, and we have seen this team go on great runs of form before in the past. Sure, the Ducks are nine points back from the back end of the playoffs right now, but with the form that they are in, those points can start to go away in a hurry. This might be the best team to try to swipe right now on the NHL gambling odds.

Odds To Win The 2012 Stanley Cup @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 2/13/12):
(Get a HUGE 100% Bonus at SportBet.com When Using This Link)
Boston Bruins 5.50 to 1
Vancouver Canucks 6.50 to 1
Detroit Red Wings 8 to 1
New York Rangers 10 to 1
Pittsburgh Penguins 10 to 1
San Jose Sharks 11 to 1
Philadelphia Flyers 12 to 1
Chicago Blackhawks 14 to 1
St. Louis Blues 16 to 1
Washington Capitals 21 to 1
Los Angeles Kings 25 to 1
Nashville Predators 25 to 1
New Jersey Devils 33 to 1
Toronto Maple Leafs 40 to 1
Florida Panthers 50 to 1
Ottawa Senators 50 to 1
Dallas Stars 60 to 1
Phoenix Coyotes 75 to 1
Minnesota Wild 80 to 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 80 to 1
Buffalo Sabres 100 to 1
Colorado Avalanche 100 to 1
Montreal Canadiens 100 to 1
Calgary Flames 125 to 1
Winnipeg Jets 125 to 1
Anaheim Ducks 300 to 1
Carolina Hurricanes 500 to 1
Columbus Blue Jackets 500 to 1
Edmonton Oilers 500 to 1
New York Islanders 500 to 1

Odds to Win 2012 NHL Championship @ Bovada Sportsbook (as of 2/13/12):
(Get a FREE 20% Bonus at Bovada.lv By Using This Link)
Boston Bruins 6 to 1
Vancouver Canucks 6 to 1
Detroit Red Wings 15 to 2
New York Rangers 15 to 2
Pittsburgh Penguins 11 to 1
San Jose Sharks 11 to 1
Philadelphia Flyers 11 to 1
St. Louis Blues 12 to 1
Chicago Blackhawks 14 to 1
Nashville Predators 18 to 1
Washington Capitals 20 to 1
Los Angeles Kings 25 to 1
New Jersey Devils 25 to 1
Toronto Maple Leafs 28 to 1
Florida Panthers 30 to 1
Ottawa Senators 40 to 1
Dallas Stars 50 to 1
Montreal Canadiens 50 to 1
Phoenix Coyotes 50 to 1
Minnesota Wild 55 to 1
Calgary Flames 60 to 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 60 to 1
Colorado Avalanche 65 to 1
Winnipeg Jets 65 to 1
Buffalo Sabres 70 to 1
Anaheim Ducks 125 to 1
New York Islanders 125 to 1
Carolina Hurricanes 200 to 1
Edmonton Oilers 200 to 1
Columbus Blue Jackets 500 to 1

1. 2012 AFC Championship Odds & NFC Championship Lines Breakdown
2. 2012 Sprint Cup Odds – Odds To Win the 2012 NASCAR Championship
3. 2012 NCAA Tournament Odds, Odds To Win 2012 NCAA Championship
4. 2012 Presidential Election Odds: Barack Obama 2012 Reelection Odds
5. 2012 Superbowl Odds: 2012-2013 Super Bowl Odds – Superbowl 47
6. 2011 BMW Championship Odds, Preview, Predictions & Free Picks