Oddsmakers See Lightning As Favorites To Win Stanley Cup In 2020

Congratulations to the St. Louis Blues, a group located in the muck of the NHL’s basement at the turn of the New Year, only to reverse their fortunes to a degree never seen before in the history of the league. The Blues are more silent and muscular than dash and flash which makes their meteoric rise even more astonishing. However, our crystal ball doesn’t see a repeat of the other Stanley Cup in their future which means we have to look elsewhere. Let us decide which groups are strong bets to add in our NHL selections.
Eastern Conference
Predicted Winner: Tampa Bay Lightning
Had the Lightning maintained goaltender Ben Bishop at the fold, instead of trading him away a few decades ago, we would probably be looking at Tampa Bay since the gold standard for professional baseball and the 2019 Stanley Cup champions. Instead, they warmed to Russian netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy, an excellent goalie in his own right, but one that withered under the strain of postseason play when he dropped four consecutive games to the Blue Jackets in the first round and finished his brief playoff series with a 3.82 goals against average and a dismal .856 save percent over these four matches.
No matter the Lightning has a boatload of talent and are, far and away, the most explosive team in the NHL. Tampa Bay now understands that the regular season means nothing once the playoffs roll around, and opponents do not cradle when they fall behind. The Lightning, like their gifted goalie, will be all the wiser next time although they may not tie a record for most wins in a season (62), since they did last year, anticipate the Lightning to toughen up on defense and become a far more formidable adversary when the postseason arrives.
Western Conference
Predicted Winner: Winnipeg Jets
Before you snicker, just how many of you picked the Blues to win the West this season, and the Stanley Cup at the turn of this New Year? Consequently will excuse me when I part company from the chalk fans and the alleged pundits who consider just Calgary, St. Louis, Vegas, and San Jose could possibly emerge out of the West to contend for a Cup next season. Even though the Jets had a disappointing showing that this season as compared to continue, when they lost to a Cinderella team in their debut season, the Vegas Knights, at the Western Conference Finals, they amassed 99 points and were bounced in the first round by the eventual Stanley Cup champs.
There are loads of contract scenarios to be resolved and the defense has to be stouter than they have been last season. But accidents also hobbled the Jets and we expect to see that the key parts of the mystery locked up and up to new deals with the sole potential casualty being Jacob Trouba, who would be eligible for a different mediation hearing before he becomes an unrestricted free agent the following year. Trouba is catnip to all those teams searching for a youthful, offensive defenseman and although he would look great back again in a Jets’ uniform, he could bring the missing bits into the championship puzzle for Winnipeg.

Read more: sporttobet.com