Of the division's five teams, only Tampa Bay was friendly to gamblers, finishing up +9.8 units in 2010/11, a statistic that betting devotees almost certainly will be tracking this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish with 2010/11 regular season straight up (SU), against the spread (ATS) and over/under (O/U) results in parentheses:
WASHINGTON CAPITALS (48-22-11 SU, 48-34 ATS, 22-57-3 O/U)
Coach: Bruce Boudreau,189-79-39 (5th year), 189-79-39 (overall)
Future Book Odds Profile: Stanley Cup 11/1, Eastern Conference Championship 5/1, Northeast Division 1/3.
By the Numbers/NHL Rank (2010/11 Regular Season)
Goal Per Game: 2.67/19
Goals Against Per Game: 2.33/4
Total Points: 589/19
Power Play Chances: 263/28
Power Play Goals: 46/22t
Power Play Percentage: 17.4/16
Penalty Kill Percentage: 85.6/2
Saves: 2184/22
Save Percentage: .920/4
Faceoff Percentage: .516/6
NHL Betting Tip: The Capitals averaged exactly five goals (for and against) during their 82 regular season games but oddsmakers listed the total at 5 1/2 or above in 76 of those games, making "under" a hugely successful play all year long.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (46-25-11 SU, 46-36 ATS, 45-36-1 O/U)
Coach: Guy Boucher,46-25-11 (2nd year), 46-25-11 (overall)
Future Book Odds Profile: Stanley Cup 14/1, Eastern Conference Championship 9/1, Northeast Division 2/1.
By the Numbers/NHL Rank (2010/11 Regular Season)
Goal Per Game: 2.94/7t
Goals Against Per Game: 2.85/21t
Total Points: 662/6t
Power Play Chances: 336/2
Power Play Goals: 69/2
Power Play Percentage: 20.6/6
Penalty Kill Percentage: 83.7/8
Saves: 2120/26
Save Percentage: .901/25t
Faceoff Percentage: .504/16
NHL Betting Tip: All six games in the Tampa Bay-Carolina series went over the total last season, something that bears watching in the new campaign.
CAROLINA HURRICANES (40-31-11 SU, 40-42 ATS, 37-41-4 O/U)
Coach: Paul Maurice,376-378-42 (11th year), 452-444-64 (overall)
Future Book Odds Profile: Stanley Cup 50/1, Eastern Conference Championship 28/1, Northeast Division 14/1.
By the Numbers/NHL Rank (2010/11 Regular Season)
Goal Per Game: 2.82/12
Goals Against Per Game: 2.85/21t
Total Points: 619/12
Power Play Chances: 346/1
Power Play Goals: 55/9t
Power Play Percentage: 15.9/24
Penalty Kill Percentage: 81.2/20
Saves: 2491/2
Save Percentage: .914/10t
Faceoff Percentage: .446/29
NHL Betting Tip: The Hurricanes played the Capitals six times last season and every game went under the total with Carolina losing five of them against the pointspread. Sometimes, teams just "own" other teams.
WINNIPEG JETS (34-36-12 SU, 34-48 ATS, 39-39-3 O/U)
Coach: Claude Noel,0-0-0 (1st year), 0-0-0 (overall)
Future Book Odds Profile: Stanley Cup 66/1, Eastern Conference Championship 45/1, Northeast Division 33/1.
By the Numbers/NHL Rank (2010/11 Regular Season)
Goal Per Game: 2.66/20
Goals Against Per Game: 3.20/29
Total Points: 576/24
Power Play Chances: 289/17t
Power Play Goals: 53/12t
Power Play Percentage: 18.3/12
Penalty Kill Percentage: 77.5/27
Saves: 2376/7
Save Percentage: .901/25t
Faceoff Percentage: .487/23
NHL Betting Tip: The Jets, who played in Atlanta last season, were 0-6 ATS in their six division games versus Tampa Bay.
FLORIDA PANTHERS (30-40-12 SU, 29-53 ATS, 30-44-8 O/U)
Coach: Kevin Dineen,0-0-0 (1st year), 0-0-0 (overall)
Future Book Odds Profile: Stanley Cup 100/1, Eastern Conference Championship 66/1, Northeast Division 40/1.
By the Numbers/NHL Rank (2010/11 Regular Season)
Goal Per Game: 2.33/27t
Goals Against Per Game: 2.71/14
Total Points: 527/28
Power Play Chances: 267/25
Power Play Goals: 35/29
Power Play Percentage: 13.11/30
Penalty Kill Percentage: 84.6/6
Saves: 2387/6
Save Percentage: .915/9
Faceoff Percentage: .519/3t
NHL Betting Tip: With a loss of 19.5 betting units over the course of 2010/11, Florida was the worst team to bet on of all 15 hockey clubs in the Eastern Conference, last season.
This is the third of a six-part NHL 2011/12 preview series.
Next: Betting the NHL's Central Division.
This article was written by Luken Karel for http://www.thegreek.com. The Greek Sportsbook & Casino is host to one of the top online sportsbooks offering college football betting and sports betting on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and all other major sports. The Greek is a must have sports betting and entertainment portal with one of the largest wagering menus available online. Article reproductions must include a link pointing to http://www.thegreek.com
