As sports pundits out there scrutinize A-Rod and study the March Madness rankings, we hockey fans keep our eyes on the game we love, watching for interesting trends. You can have your college hoops and Daytona 500 betting. We’ll stick with the fastest game on Earth.

For those of us NHL betting fans who’ve still kept a close eye on the game of late, some interesting trends are forming. Let’s play a game…

DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT…The Montreal Canadians aren’t simply falling out of sportsbook favor. They’re in jeopardy of missing the playoffs.

The Verdict: They’re talented enough that they’ll still make it in, but home ice isn’t looking good right now considering the Atlantic-Division squads competing with them for fourth.

DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT…The Dallas Stars are as hot as any team in the league.

The Verdict: We discussed this last week…the turnaround is pretty believable. Maybe Brenden Morrow could return in time for Stanley Cup betting, too.

DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT…The Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues are ahead of schedule.

The Verdict: It’s neat to see these squads back on the road to success, but I don’t think either will claw past the other Western bubble teams to squeak into the NHL betting playoffs this year.

DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT…The New Jersey Devils look like a legit Stanley Cup odds contender right now.

The Verdict: I buy into it. Two scoring Northbet.com lines are really rolling now, we know the defense is good, and Marty’s return should give them even more confidence — as long as it doesn’t rattle the current team chemistry.