The Pittsburgh Penguins took the hockey betting world by storm last year when they pulled off one of the most amazing upsets in Stanley Cup betting by defeating the then defending champion Detroit Red Wings. The Pens Stanley Cup odds victory was one for the ages but that then and this is now. In the 2010 Stanley Cup wagering competition the Pens have their work cut out for them.
Pittsburgh was among the best teams in NHL regular season betting finishing with the third best record in the East (47-28-7) and closing the season with 101 points. The Pens will be a #4 seed in the upcoming NHL playoff betting action and are the favorites to advance in their first round hockey betting matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
But after the first round things get much more difficult and a return to the Stanley Cup betting action is hardly guaranteed. As a reward for winning their first round NHL playoff betting series the Pens will likely get a re-match from last year’s playoff betting matchup against the Capitols.
That’s not really much of a reward when you consider that the Caps finished the regular season NHL betting action with the best record in hockey (131 points) and are the Stanley Cup odds favorite to hoist Lord Stanley’s hardware this year. Even more disheartening is the fact that the Caps owned the Penguins during the regular season hockey betting.
The Pen’s biggest obstacle in their quest to return to the Stanley Cup betting Finals is no doubt Washington and the NHL odds are against Pittsburgh advancing. Sill, when you have a superstar like reigning NHL MVP Sid the Kid and another capable scorer like Ygevny Malkin on your squad anything is possible. If he Caps and Pens do meet up in the quest for a Stanley Cup betting berth, you can be sure that it will be one of the best series of the NHL playoff betting.