The biggest turnaround in an NHL season that has been highlighted by several surprises has to be the play of the St. Louis Blues, which have transitioned from a team that appeared destined to miss the playoffs once again to a team seemingly destined to be among the top contenders in the Western conference. St. Louis struggled out of the gate with just two wins through its first six games, but has since turned things around, and become even stronger with the addition of head coach Ken Hitchcock behind the bench. The Blue have a ton of talent throughout their lineup but their biggest strength was also their biggest weakness as they were young and inexperienced. Hitchcock coming in helped stabilize that aspect of the team, and since then they have flourished among the most complete teams in the NHL.

It has to be noted that while Hitchcock’s presence has been among the biggest keys to the turnaround, it is not the only reason. St. Louis has allowed a league-low 1.9 average goals against per game, and the goaltending tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott has everything to do with that as well. Hitchcock’s system has his defenders collapse down low and clear out the rebounds in front of his goalies, but it is on them to make the first save. While both the forwards and defenseman have been responsible in their own end, Halak and Elliott have a combined save percentage of .928, and nine shutouts between them. Blues’ fans have been waiting on Halak to deliver for quite some time, and perhaps all it took was a little healthy competition with the addition of Elliott in the offseason. Both netminders have exceeded expectations, and having two capable goalies has been among the keys to St. Louis’ success, something the pay head bookies have taken notice of.

General manager Doug Armstrong has told the media that he will not break up that tandem before the trade deadline in order to acquire players at other positions, and it is a good thing that he isn’t. St. Louis has some solid depth on the blue line and some capable forwards up front, and the more experience they get the better they will be able to handle pressure situations. David Backes leads all scorers with 37 points on the year, however the Blues could be in the market to add another scorer before the deadline if the price is right, since after Backes there is only one other player on the roster with more than 30 points. There is no shortage of options available with several teams looking to make a move to sell, and it might not be long until St. Louis makes a move to increase their odds of emerging from the conference on Betonline.

The Blues have a solid blend of youth and experience now thanks to Hitchcock, and as long as they continue to buy in to his system and execute they should be fine. St. Louis has been one of the biggest surprises this season as they currently sit fourth in the Western conference, and look for them to continue to execute down the stretch as legitimate sports betting contenders.

This season, there has been much debate within the NHL regarding the safety of goalies. Comparable to the NFL, the goalie like the quarterback is the most important player on the ice. Essentially, your season depends not necessarily on who scores the most points on your team, but rather which goalie plays hard enough night in and night out, that it allows your team the best opportunity to win the Stanley Cup. Earlier this season, Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic body checked Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, giving the latter a concussion. As a result, Miller and his team have struggled, as he is still experiencing signs of the concussion. Thus leaving the question, is it time that the NHL adopted rules to protect goalies?

As we noted above, the goalie position in the NHL is just as important as the quarterback position in the NFL. While the quarterback is responsible for calling everything on offense, and dictating who does what, the goalie is responsible for stopping the puck and on many nights making the key saves which can keep their team in a game. When an opposing teams player strikes a goalie, the automatic response, in our opinion should be not only for a penalty to be administered similar to roughing the quarterback, but a fight to breakout. The goalie may have more equipment on then the average skater, but 90 percent of goalies are much skinnier then the bruising players crashing into them.

In other words, regardless of the equipment, the goalie needs to be protected, as they are the most important assets on your team. With this in mind, the NHL needs to make stiffer punishments for players that attack goalies, because it can affect the outcome of the game. If the goalie isn’t protected, then teams such as the Boston Bruins, will always have their sports betting lines skewed because they can injure who ever they please.

The Vancouver Canucks have surged to second place in the Western Conference after a slow start, and the defending conference champions will host Los Angeles on Tuesday night in a matchup of two teams that are coming off a loss on Sunday night.

Kings Canucks Odds – Tuesday, 10:00 PM

Los Angeles (22-15-9) has had some issues putting the puck in the net, which raised its ugly head once again in a 2-1 overtime loss in Edmonton. Some sportsbook reviews would point out that the Kings were outshot 33-21 and they got another solid performance from goaltender Jonathan Quick, who stopped 31 shots, while Justin Williams notched his eighth goal of the season for the Kings. Some players that are familiar with price per head bookie software had the Kings as a darkhorse for the Stanley Cup, but no one foresaw their goal-scoring problems, especially it being this poor. Quick has been playing at an All-Star caliber and if he keeps this up, he’ll definitely earn consideration for the Vezina, but at the end of the day, the Kings have to find a way to give their goalie some protection in regards to scoring or they won’t even make the postseason.

Vancouver (28-15-3) were outshot 34-23 in a 4-2 loss at home to Anaheim, and it may have been worse if not for a 30-save effort from goaltender Roberto Luongo. The Canucks were outshot 10-3 in the first period, but managed to go into the locker room tied at one apiece and the score could have easily been worse if not for Luongo, who the Canucks need to be at his best to stay in the good graces of players that use price per head services. Cody Hodgson and Mason Raymond got on the scoresheet for Vancouver, who were playing at home for the first time after a four-game road trip on which they went 3-1.

The Canucks should be the favorites at home against the Kings, who are 2-3 SU in their last five trips to Vancouver, and three of those games went under the posted total. Los Angeles has to figure out a way to generate goals, or at the very least, shots on goal because Quick can’t carry them in the ultra-tough Western Conference. Early in the season, it was chocked up to new players getting used to their teammates, but now, it’s starting to get scary as the Kings are 30th in goals scored and if you look at the talent on the team, they should be scoring more. However, the Canucks rarely lose two in a row at home and they’ll come out with some fire on Tuesday night, so take Vancouver when you bet on sports.

As the NHL world draws closer to the annual All Star game in the coming days, the playoff picture in the Eastern conference is already much clearer than it was just a couple of months ago. While the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, and Philadelphia Flyers appear to be the three locks to make the postseason out east, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, and New York Islanders will not have a chance at this year’s dance. As far as the nine teams in between go, there is still a lot of hockey to be played as we try and separate the true contenders from pretenders.

Many sports betting enthusiasts figured that the Montreal Canadiens would take another step forward this season after adding veteran winger Eric Cole and developing much of its young core. But the Canadiens haven’t responded as expected, and after the firing of head coach Jacques Martin and subsequent anointment of Randy Cunneyworth as interim coach, the pot has really been stirred in Montreal. Seven points back of eighth place in the Eastern conference exactly at the halfway mark of the season, the Canadiens have the time and talent to turn things around, but they will have to play with a greater sense of urgency and get on a roll over these next couple of weeks.

The Buffalo Sabres are in the same boat as the Canadiens having spent a ton of money in the offseason, but the play of netminder Ryan Miller has been a concern ever since he returned from concussion, and the offense hasn’t scored at the pace it was expected to. The Washington Capitals have been Southeast division favorites on Betonline ever since Alex Ovechkin’s second year, but are also on the outside looking in at this point. New head coach Dale Hunter appears to be turning things around, but results are needed soon before they fall too far back. The Winnipeg Jets have played excellent hockey in their new home but have been awful on the road, and will need to play better there to have a chance.

While the Canadiens, Capitals, and Jets all appear to have a chance at turning things around over the second half and making a push, qualifying for a playoff spot would mean one of the teams from fourth through eighth slipping, and there are several candidates. The Florida Panthers have several stars that are playing over their heads, and could be coming down to earth with a .500 record over their past 10 games. The Ottawa Senators are a young team with goaltending issues, and the same can be said about the Toronto Maple Leafs. The New Jersey Devils appear poised to make a run in the Eastern conference as long as Martin Brodeur can stay healthy, while the Pittsburgh Penguins should be able to clinch a spot in the elite eight as long as they can get some healthy bodies back soon.

There is still a ton of hockey left to be played and a lot to be determined, but based on what we have seen so far, it should be an exciting year. The pay head bookies did not have the Panthers listed as favorites over the Capitals in the Southeast division, and it is hard to imagine the Penguins holding on with all of their injuries, so the door is open for change as the contenders look to separate from the pretenders over the second half.

Since the NHL lockout in 2004 – 2005 the role of the enforcer has diminished significantly. In the first few years after the lockout, a fourth line designated to fight the toughest players of the opposing team became necessary, in order to protect star players. However, over the last couple of seasons, sports betting enthusiasts have seen the world’s biggest hockey league change to a speed game rather then a fighting game. Thus, making us wonder, is the role of the enforcer extinct?

As the speed of the NHL has increased, so too has the amount of injuries to star players. Concussions are on the rise, as players skating at high speeds crush each other either into the end boards or open ice. Theoretically, an enforcer would then be called upon to take on the person applying the concussion based hit, to show that they can’t do that to their star player. Yet, the majority of enforcers are good with their hands, but not good at skating. In other words, the enforcer is becoming extinct, because all they can do is enforce, rather than contribute in other ways.

Personally, we feel, that while the true examples of enforcers have been removed from the NHL, bookie software tough guys are still in the game. For example, players such as Milan Lucic and Jamie Benn, power forwards, who steam roll their way to the net in order to score, provide more to their teams then the typical enforcer. That is to say, a player such as Lucic can drop the gloves with dirty players after cheap shots, but also score 60 to 75 points, because they have enough skill to play in all situations. On the other side of things, a player such as Scott Thornton is witnessing his ice time decrease, because aside from fighting he can’t do very much.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have fallen out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, and while it’s still too early to jump off the bandwagon, they’ve dropped three in a row and need to get back on track on Tuesday when they host a streaking Tampa Bay team.

Lightning Maple Leafs Odds – Tuesday, 7:00 PM ET

The Lightning have won three straight after a 5-2 win at home over Carolina on New Year’s Eve, and a Wagerweb review of their season would show that the team has been playing much better with Mathieu Garon in goal. This game was his 11th consecutive start and he stopped 24 shots to earn the victory, while Steven Stamkos notched a hat trick for the Lightning, who outshot the Hurricanes 32-26 and pulled away with three goals in the first 6:51 of the third period. The Lightning were one of the biggest surprises in last year’s postseason, but a slow start took them down a peg in the eyes of some players that use price per head services. They’re improving, but the Lightning are a poor 6-12-3 on the road this season.

The Maple Leafs were edged 3-2 in Winnipeg, also on New Year’s Eve and a familiar problem reared its head as Toronto gave the Jets six power plays, which Winnipeg scored on twice. Phil Kessel and Clarke MacArthur lit the lamp for the Maple Leafs, but they continue to take poor penalties, which is a massive problem when you’re 30th in the league in penalty killing. The Maple Leafs got off to a great start, but eventually their old problems crept into the game and at this point, it has to be coaching because Toronto has had one of the worst penalty-killing percentages since the lockout and that is something experienced players that purchase price per head software will consider when making picks.

Toronto should be the favorites at home, where they are 1-4 SU in their last five against the Lightning, with three games going over the posted total. The Maple Leafs are 8-5-4 at Air Canada Center this season, and this will begin a four-game homestand that Toronto desperately needs to be successful on after dropping three of four on the road to close out 2011, and they’ve lost eight of their last 11 overall. These are the type of runs that tend to take the Maple Leafs out of the playoff hunt every season, and they’re a bit fortunate to get a team that has struggled badly away from home so far, even though they are dangerous. This will also be a matchup of two of the best snipers in the league as Stamkos leads the NHL in goals, while Kessel isn’t far behind. Take Toronto to the bank in your online sports book.

How do you say, “Hello, I am Randy Cunneyworth and I am doing everything that I can to try and help this team win?” It may not matter much longer the way that the Montreal Canadiens are playing lately, as Cunneyworth will be the easy target for dismissal if they continue on their recent slide. The Canadiens entered the Christmas break with a 13-16-7 record after managing to string together five straight losses to send their NHL fans home unhappy for the holidays, and as they continue their six-game road trip against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, they better come out with some more juice and find a way to break out of their awful slump.

The reason’s for Cunneyworth’s ultimate dismissal are obvious, and while many will focus on the language barrier, that isn’t his biggest problem. It has to be said that Cunneyworth does not speak a word of French, which is considered a crucial asset in a city dominated by the language, and a prerequisite that has been met by several coaches before him, and should lead to several after him. More importantly than his inability to speak French however is his lack of presence, as during Montreal’s current slide he has shown little tenacity or depth, remaining calm on the bench and at most times quiet while his team gives up another crucial two points in the standings. At least with former head coach Jacques Martin the Canadiens understood the system they were playing, and knew their roles. While Cunneyworth has said the system is largely the same, Montreal has failed to execute on the ice, and that should lead to more change, including its status as potential favorites on betonline.

It must also be said that this roster largely resembles the one that went to the Eastern conference finals just two years ago, and then pushed the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins to seven games in the opening round of last year’s playoffs. The absence of captain Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, and Andrei Markov have to be regarded for what they are, as Gionta and Gomez were regular members of the Canadiens’ top-six forward lines, while Markov was one of the top offensive defenseman in the game before his injury. When those three will return to the lineup is not yet known, but the sooner the better for a Canadiens’ team that is in its worst slump since Gionta joined the team a couple of years ago and helped make them a contender according to the pay head bookies.

For what it is worth, goaltender Carey Price has been brilliant for Montreal, one of the few reasons why they were even in some games over the past couple of weeks. But Price can’t do it on his own, and as a restricted free agent this summer, he will have to consider all offers on the table for him if the Canadiens do not regain some structure. Montreal will have every opportunity to bounce back this week against the Senators, Lightning, and Panthers, and if they aren’t able to get the sports betting job done, expect more change to come in Montreal.

The NFL and NHL represent two of the biggest niches in the sports betting world today. Generally speaking, the NFL is considered the more profitable league, as they average several billion dollars in gambling revenue according to bookie software agents. However, for handicappers, the NHL in theory could provide more value. Today we’ll look at why the NHL has more value then the NFL.

As handicappers, we pride ourselves on being knowledgeable on the big four major sports, NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. Around October annually, bettors are filled with excitement, as the NFL season reaches its midway point, the MLB playoffs are starting and the NHL is kicking off the start of its season. As a result, the average bettor, will circle October on their calendar, as this is where they can receive their most value for their money.

For the reason that you want the most value for your money, handicapping the NHL can be the best route to go. Consider, that in October, football games only happen once a week, and baseball goes from a daily event to an every other day or one series a night event. Therefore, bettors looking to make a parlay, would be good to use the NHL as their main niche, as on any given night to start the season, there is between seven to 10 games on the card to add to your parlay.

The two main reasons you want to make hockey your niche is because of the sheer amount of games on any night, and the odds provided by the bookmaker. While the bookies generally focus on the NFL and MLB in October, they pay less attention to the NHL lines. Meaning to say, that you can find excellent value on the hockey lines early in the season, because the bookies aren’t focusing on it.

Chicago is rocketing up the NHL standing with a current five-game winning streak, and they’ll look to extend it to six games on Tuesday when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins, who will be without their captain once again.

Blackhawks Penguins Odds – Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET

The Blackhawks (21-8-4) defeated Calgary 4-2 at home on Sunday, and some sportsbook reviews would point to Chicago’s ability to win close games during this streak as they have won all five by two goals or less, and three of the games have gone to overtime or the shootout. Steve Montador, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa lit the lamp for Chicago, while Ray Emery stopped 22 shots in his seventh straight start. The Blackhawks are a favorite among those who use price per head services, even though they’re on the cusp of a goaltending controversy as Emery is taking the No.1 spot from Corey Crawford; in fact, it may already be gone and that will be a major decision for head coach Joel Quenneville, who picked up his 600th career victory in the win against the Flames.

The Penguins (18-11-4) had been struggling with four losses in five games, but they awakened enough for an 8-3 romp over Buffalo at home on Saturday. Pittsburgh was powered by a hat trick from Evgeni Malkin, while Jason Williams, Simon Despres, James Neal, Deryk Engelland and Chris Kunitz notched singles for the Penguins, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 16 stops on the night. On the same day that the Penguins put captain Sidney Crosby on the injured list with more concussion issue, it was fitting that Malkin stepped up and led the Pittsburgh offense because they’re going to need him to do that regularly until Crosby comes back. Remember, Malkin was hurt most of last year with a knee injury and if the Penguins are going to stay in the good graces of those that use price per head sports software, Malkin has to inspire his teammates.

Pittsburgh should be the favorites at home in this contest, although the Blackhawks are 10-6-1 on the road this season, while the Penguins are 9-3-2 at CONSOL Energy Center. Both of these teams figure to be in the hunt when it comes to Stanley Cup betting favorites and even without Crosby, there is a lot of offensive skill on the ice. The Penguins will have their hands full with a deep Chicago lineup, but Malkin is the player on either side that can take over a game by himself (with all due respect to Chicago captain Jonathan Toews and Kane). We’re riding with the hot team and taking Chicago away from home at our favorite sports betting sites.

A quick glance at the Eastern conference standings wouldn’t reveal much in terms of surprise, unless that is you notice the Florida Panthers in third place overall, and in the top spot in the Southeast division despite being labeled as sports betting underdogs. In a group that at least for now includes the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning, it’s rather strange to see the Panthers sitting in first place as we make our way through the month of December. But on the heels of consecutive losses, now is the time when Florida’s slide could begin, and that will open the door for a true Eastern conference contender to move up in to a playoff spot.

It isn’t that the Panthers haven’t played good hockey, or that Panthers’ general manager Dale Tallon didn’t do an excellent job of bringing quality players in to the fold down south with limited resources this past summer according to the numbers on the Betonline site. After all, Kris Versteeg seems to finally be ready to reach his potential with 13 goals and 31 points, while Brian Campbell already has 22 assists as the two biggest free agent pickups from the summer of 2011. Stephen Weiss is playing excellent two-way hockey with an incredible plus-17 rating, and the team has some solid depth at both ends of the ice. But the biggest problem for the Panthers at this point is in goal, where the team was forced to pull Jose Theodore, and allow Scott Clemmensen to play the final 20 minutes of a 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers. For now, Florida wants rookie netminder Jacob Markstrom to concentrate on improving for another year before they make him their starter, which leaves the job up to Theodore and Clemmensen. While neither has been an awful option so far this year, it is hard to argue that either one can be the No. 1 for a legitimate playoff contender. Despite getting good goaltending so far and playing sound fundamentally, the Panthers still have the worst goal differential among the top five teams according to the numbers the pay head bookies look at, and many feel as though it is likely to get worse as teams begin to figure them out.

The Capitals have too much talent to remain on the outside looking in, and if the Lightning can get some quality play from their goaltending, they should be back in the mix. While this could take time, Washington will be in first place in the Southeast division by February, and that will leave the Panthers fighting for a spot in the top-eight. The Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, and New Jersey Devils are all teams currently on the outside looking in, and considering that Montreal is finally getting healthier and the way that the Devils closed out last season, it will only be a matter of time before one of them emerges as the legitimate Eastern conference contender that overtakes the Panthers in the standings.