NHL Stanley Cup Odds: Washington Capitals New Favourites

This NHL season has been a rollercoaster but for now, the Washington Capitals are Stanley Cup favourites.

The list of what Alex Ovechkin hasn’t accomplished in his 11-year National Hockey League career isn’t long, but one major omission remains: a Stanley Cup championship. This year could be his best chance to hoist Lord Stanley’s mug with the Washington Capitals.

In Sports Interaction’s latest NHL odds update, the Washington Capitals are now pegged as +475 Stanley Cup favourites and there’s good reason for that. The Capitals own the best record in the league at 32-7-3 while ranking second overall in goals for per game (3.3) and goals against (2.1).

Stanley Cup Odds

It’s that ability to win different types of games that has been the big difference for Washington this year.

“I think we’ve been equipped and conditioned to play whatever game that’s presented,” second-year coach Barry Trotz told reporters. “Sometimes I’d like us to come over and dictate the game a little more. But we sort of say, ‘OK, well, this is what kind of game it’s going to be and let’s deal with it.’ That’s a sign, I guess, of maturity as a group.”

That maturity often comes after suffering tough losses and the Caps have certainly gone through their fair share of disappointment. Last year they eliminated the New York Islanders in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs only to blow a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers and lose in Game 7 in the following round.

Now, they’re using that experience and disappointment to fuel this season’s charge. Will this be the year the Capitals win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history?