After a rare year in which the Detroit Red Wings didn’t finish in the top three of the Western conference, or make it to the Stanley Cup finals, it appears as though the franchise is back on track for another championship run. The Red Wings split a couple of finals with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008 and 2009 before injuries and inconsistencies forced them off the online sports betting radar last season, when even an incredible surge over the final couple of months of the season wasn’t enough to consider the year a success. But with wins in 11 of their first 15 games, Detroit is atop the Central division, one point back of the conference-leading Los Angeles Kings.
While the Kings are currently a point ahead of the Red Wings, they lack the experience and depth of their conference rivals. Los Angeles does not have the lessons that come with a couple of back-to-back NHL betting playoff runs, but that doesn’t mean the team doesn’t deserve their own recognition as one of the best in the league. The Kings are 12-4-0 heading in to Tuesday night, and have both the best goals against average and the top-ranked penalty kill. What has hockey fans in California even more excited is that the team is 8-0-0 on home ice, and a couple of young goaltenders are the biggest reason why. Jon Quick and Jonathan Bernier give the Kings the best kind of goaltending controversy, with both capable of being a No. 1.
With Howard taking over the top job in Detroit, and Quick and Bernier both looking solid in Los Angeles, it’s no surprise that the team at the top of Northwest division NHL standings has a gold medal winner in goal. The Vancouver Canucks are tied with the Red Wings at 23 points, with their only home loss coming after regulation time. Roberto Luongo struggled mightily to open the year, even conceding a few starts to back up Corey Scheider early on, but has registered wins in six of his last seven games while getting his save percentage up to .914.
While an argument can be made for all three of the big three in the West this season, the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks have struggled. The Blackhawks are just 4-5-1 through their last 10 games to fall to .500 on the season, behind both Detroit and the St. Louis Blues in the Central division hockey betting standings. Chicago has struggled out of the gate after losing playoff heroes such as Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, and Kris Versteeg, and may have a tough time even getting to second spot in the division. That’s only if St. Louis continues to struggled however. The Blues have lost four in a row to fall a game back of the Red Wings for top spot. The focus however remains on the big three in Detroit, Los Angeles, and Vancouver, and with the latter two both coming off a loss, they should be prime picks to get back on track this week.
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