President’s not a Cup Lock

By on March 16, 2019
TRAVIS FAILEY PHOTO

Every year around mid March the world of the NHL’s eyes look upon the final playoff run.   With teams having 10 to 12 games left to play the standings jockeying for the NHL’s second season, which starts mid-April, becomes intense.

Currently the Tampa Bay Lightning have already amazingly clinched a playoff spot with 112 points and are on almost a sure-fire pace to be the President’s Trophy winner with the next closest club being the team formerly the Atlanta Flames (now Calgary Flames since 1980) with 95 points.  With this anomaly of a year, what is the Lightning’s chances of winning the Cup?

History articulates the President’s Trophy winner does not fair well in the grand scheme of the producing of a Stanley Cup Champion. 

The 16-team Stanley Cup playoffs are one of the least predictable post-seasons in sports. The best team from the regular season has only won once since 2008. That’s why Tampa Bay at +400 looks like significantly worse value than teams like San Jose (+1000), Toronto (+1200), and Vegas (+1400). The odds are not the same at all sportsbooks, however. The betting options can be murky, this link should add some clarity if you are thinking on placing some wagers as they all have important differences in their prices but most important, these sites are safe for bettor in the US.

(photo Kim Klement / USA Today Sports

The President’s Trophy has been awarded since the 1985-86 season to the NHL team with most points at the end of the regular season.  That’s 32 times with 16 different teams winning it but only 25% of the winners going on to claim the big prize the, Stanley Cup. 

The Lightning with a plus +90 goal differential (next closest also that former Atlanta team with +51) have been just plain dominant. Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL with 115 points with teammates Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos at 10th and 13th respectively.  The Lightning also are getting great work between the pipes from Andrei Vasilevskiy. 

So, get ready, the NHL playoffs are right around the corner. Can the Tampa Bay Lightning stay hot through April, May and into June to complete this amazing season?

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