The Vancouver Canucks and the Chicago Blackhawks, the favourites, are back on top halfway through the NHL season in Western Conference. Leading their respective divisions the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks are surprisingly similar except the Canucks lead the NHL in points at the midway point.
Opening as 12-1 favourites to win the Stanley Cup the Blackhawks have been bet down to 6-1 co-favourites with the Washington Capitals. Despite Vancouver taking the President’s Trophy last season the Blackhawks have been the best team in the Western Conference for the last three years.
After falling short against the Boston Bruins last season, the Canucks are not suffering through the Stanley Cup hangover. Opening the season as a 6-1 favourite to win the Cup, their odds have gone up to 9-1 in spite of the team leading the NHL in points halfway in this season.
Finally returning as a contender in the West the Los Angeles Kings opened as a 12-1 shot to win it all as the books believed in the Kings, if no one else did but have been bet down to 10-1. After watching the Anaheim Ducks win a Stanley Cup Los Angeles is hungry for a winner and this is their best chance in years.
The Ducks opened the season at 25-1 but the Ducks odds are another curious anomaly as team is in the basement and their futures odds have actually been bet down and now sit at 20-1.
The Coyotes opened as a 30-1 shot but the Coyotes have been pummelled this season and their odds quickly tumbled to 80-1 as their season unravels.

After hanging with the Vancouver Canucks for much of game two in the Western Conference Finals, the San Jose Sharks got badly outplayed in the third period en route to a Vancouver 7-3 victory.
With Game 1 slated for Sunday, the San Jose Sharks finally dispatched the Detroit Red Wings to advance to the Western Conference Finals to take on the Vancouver Canucks, after a long seven-game series and VERSUS will broadcast this match at 8 pm ET.
One of the more competitive second round matchups of this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs is taking place between the Nashville Predators and the Vancouver Canucks.
On Friday night, round two of the Western Conference playoffs will get under way when the Detroit Red Wings travel to San Jose to battle against the Sharks, with round one of the NHL playoffs in the books.
The Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers will play in game 4 of their first round series this Wednesday.
As the season closes out, this weekend the Philadelphia Flyers will take on the Buffalo Sabres. The Flyers look like they’ll finish the season as the 2nd best team in the Eastern Conference of the NHL as these teams are both looking like they will find their way into the playoff picture.
In a rematch of one of last year’s first round playoff series, the Washington Capitals will travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens Saturday night.