posted March 3, 2008 at 16:31 in NHL Betting Trends

The New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers are both pegged at +2000 odds on the BetUS NHL betting page to win the Stanley Cup this season, but there might not be room for both of those clubs to earn Eastern playoff positions when spring rolls around.

The Rangers and the Flyers have been hovering around the bottom two positions of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, with the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, and New York Islanders in that neighborhood as well. It seems likely that only three of those five clubs will make the postseason, meaning games between them have added importance.

So if the Rangers manage to edge Philadelphia for a postseason berth, Sunday’s matinee matchup between those teams could’ve given New York a crucial edge. The Rangers fell behind 1-0 and 2-1 in that game, but battled back to get a 5-4 shootout win.

It wasn’t exactly a stellar outing for Henrik Lundqvist, though, as he allowed three goals on eight shots in the first period and was benched in favor of backup Stephen Valiquette the rest of the way. Valiquette then stopped 17 of 18 Philadelphia shots and weathered the shootout to secure two points for his team; he was named the game’s second star.

The Flyers decided to start their backup, Antero Niittymaki, in that crucial divisional contest, and that decision turned out very badly for coach John Stevens. Niittymaki was lit up for four goals on just 14 shots before Martin Biron was put between the pipes. Biron then stopped all 21 New York shots he faced before giving up the shootout winner.

Martin Straka, Fredrik Sjostrom, Ryan Callahan, and Christian Backman scored for the Rangers in the victory, while Brendan Shanahan had the shootout winner. Jeff Carter tallied twice for Philly, and Vaclav Prospal and Braydon Coburn had the other markers.

The win moved New York to 34-24-8 on the season, and with 76 points they are now two points ahead of Philadelphia for seventh place in the conference standings. The Flyers dropped to 33-25-8 with the loss, but they are still ahead of the Sabres for eighth.

The Sabres, though, can make a move on the Flyers when the two teams meet in Philadelphia on Tuesday night (7:00pm ET). The Rangers also have another key conference battle on their schedule for Tuesday, as they’ll host the Islanders (7:00pm ET). Boston will visit Washington on Monday, then host the Panthers on Tuesday night.

So if the Rangers and Flyers are each at +2000 odds to win the Stanley Cup this season, what kinds of lines are the conference’s other contenders looking at heading into the final month of the regular season? The Ottawa Senators still lead the way at +700 odds, but that’s just slightly ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins (who are at +750).

The Montreal Canadiens have been one of the hottest teams in the league over the past couple of weeks, and that has moved their championship line up to +1000. The New Jersey Devils are just behind them at +1100, with the Washington Capitals somehow at +2800, and both the Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes both pegged at +3000.

The Bruins and Islanders are at +3500 and +6500 odds, respectively, to win the Stanley Cup this season. With Marian Hossa no longer on board the slipping Atlanta Thrashers have fallen to +7000 odds, with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers the biggest longshots on the list at +10000 odds to bring home the Cup.

Check the BetUS NHL lines section for all the latest hockey odds and prop bets for the league.

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