Washington Capitals Stanley Cup Playoff Preview

NHL Odds makers did not account for the surge in form which saw the Capitals go 3 – 0 in April, can Ovechkin lead his team all the way to the Stanley Cup Final and upset the bookies even more?

Alexander Ovechkin led all National Hockey League scorers with 65 goals and 112 points this past season, but his bigger accomplishment was leading his Washington Capitals to first place in the Southeast Division and a berth in the playoffs.

The Capitals just managed to squeeze past the Carolina Hurricanes by two points to claim their division title. That also means that Washington is the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and they’ll take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round. So can Ovechkin lead his team into the second round and beyond?

Well, anyone who’s done much NHL betting over the past few weeks will find it hard to wager against the young Russian forward and his surging club. The Capitals posted a 10-4 record in the month of March, and they enter the playoffs a perfect 3-0 in April. No team in the Eastern Conference had a better conclusion to the regular season.

Along with Ovechkin, the other key to Washington’s resurgence has been the stellar play of goaltender Cristobal Huet. The netminder from France was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens prior to the trade deadline, and he has stolen the team’s starting duties from longtime Capitals stalwart Olaf Kolzig. Huet has won each of his past nine starts, and he hasn’t allowed more than three goals in a game since February 21.

So the duo of Ovechkin and Huet will boost Washington’s odds to win the 2008 Stanley Cup, but does the team have any other assets of note? Well, Ovechkin did finish 43 points ahead of runner-up Nicklas Backstrom in team scoring, and he had 39 more goals than Alexander Semin (who was second in that category). That is going to make the opposition’s game plan pretty clear – stop No. 8 at all costs.

Along with Backstrom and Semin the Capitals’ key supporting cast includes forwards Viktor Kozlov and Brooks Laich, and defenseman Mike Green (who tallied 18 goals during the regular season). As well, the team picked up veteran center Sergei Fedorov prior to the trade deadline, and they’re hoping that his wealth of experience will pay dividends during the playoffs.

The Capitals, though, don’t have a recent history of success, so it might be tough for people to do much hockey betting on them this spring. If Ovechkin and Huet are able to lead the team to an easy win over the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs, however, watch for their Stanley Cup odds to quickly improve.