Now that every team in the 2017 Western Conference Stanley Cup playoffs has won a game, it’s time to look at the latest hockey odds to make the final. It’s funny, if you had asked any expert prior to the playoffs to name the four teams with the best chance to come out of the West, no none would have left out the Blackhawks or the Wild, or perhaps even the Sharks. That’s why they play the games, people.
NHL odds to win the 2017 Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoffs
Edmonton Oilers +150
Nashville Predators +175
Anaheim Ducks +475
St. Louis Blues +600
It’s funny to see the Blues as such an underdog to take it all, particularly when they’re only down by one game to the Predators, with potentially two more home games in St. Louis to play. Everyone is jumping on the Nashville bandwagon right, mainly because of their top four defensemen and stellar goaltending play.
The Oilers dropped their first home games of the series to the Ducks, but still lead the series by a game. Anaheim has more playoff experience and has played a couple less games in these playoffs, so you would think that they would be the fresher team as this series goes on. The key for them was having goaltender John Gibson finally steal them a game. If he continues to play like this then the Ducks at +475 are an outstanding play to win the conference.
In terms of x-factors, none of these teams have suffered star player injuries as of yet, so that’s something to watch. In other words, even if a team feels like a comfortable play to win the series, hockey can change in the blink of an eye. Momentum is everything in postseason action.
The bottom line is that value NHL picks seekers are loving the Ducks and Blues odds right now. There isn’t an overwhelmingly dominant team amongst the four. So picking up a little extra incentive when examining hockey odds can make a whole lot of sense.
Matthew Ross is a sports commentator and a radio host on TSN 690 Radio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Follow him @MatthewWords.
