Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Playoff Preview

NHL Odds rarely lie, and Detroit are in no mood to prove that theory wrong, they remain one of the strong favorites to reach the Holy Grail in 2008.

The Detroit Red Wings came into the 2007-08 season with one goal: To win the Stanley Cup. Judging by the campaign the Wings have had, there’s little reason to think that goal can’t be achieved.

Looking at Stanley Cup odds, there’s agreement, with the Red Wings currently priced as chalky favorites to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup. Detroit is even more of a favorite to come out of the Western Conference, with the Presidents’ Trophy winners currently listed at 1.80 to get to the Cup final. It should be remembered that the Red Wings pushed the 2007 Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks to six games in the Western Conference final last season, meaning Detroit should be fired up to get back to the final this time around.

Detroit finished first in the league with a 54-21-7 record and 115 points, ranking first in goals against. The Wings were also third in goals for and third on the power play, while ranking eighth in penalty killing and finishing the year as the least penalized team in the NHL.

The Red Wings boast a potent and balanced attack led by Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, who registered 98 and 91 points respectively. Bolstering the forward corps is an assembly of two-way players led by Jiri Hudler, Tomas Holmstrom, and Dan Cleary. Cleary missed action as recently as two weeks ago with a broken jaw, but recorded two assists in the final six regular-season games.

If the Red Wings have an Achilles’ heel it’s injuries, with a number of key players banged up heading into the postseason. Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper, Mikael Samuelsson, and Brad Stuart are all dealing with ailments that could see them miss time or be less effective when they are in the lineup.

Another potential question mark for the Red Wings is goaltending, even though they should be solid in net with the veteran duo of Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood. The Dominator will be the No. 1 goaltender heading into Round 1, but that could change if he falters. Osgood made the All-Star Game over Hasek, and was putting up better numbers than the Dominator until the final weeks of the season.

Despite these issues, there are more reasons to like Detroit than not when it comes to NHL betting. If Datsyuk and Zetterberg play up to their potential, there’s every reason to think the Red Wings will make a deep run in the playoffs.