With the majority of teams already passed the quarter mark of the NHL regular season, the biggest story so far has been the incredible parity throughout the league. While only five points separates second place in the Eastern conference from ninth, that number is even tighter in the Western conference, where the only a single point separates third through tenth. While there is still a long way to go, the tiny difference in the standings has made it hard to separate the contenders from the pretenders early on, but here is a quick look at what we know.

In the Eastern conference, only two of the top-eight teams currently in the top-eight failed to make the postseason a year ago, with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers off to hot starts to replace the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens from last year’s standings. Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul have led the high-flying Maple Leafs to the top of the standings even without netminder James Reimer healthy, while the Panthers have surprised everyone with some capable goaltending from Jose Theodore and a ton of offensive additions coming together including Kris Versteeg and the league’s top-scoring stable of defenseman. But while both teams are off to hot starts, it must be noted that the former Atlanta Thrashers led the Southeast division around this time a year ago and failed to make the playoffs, while Toronto hasn’t tasted the postseason since the NHL lockout year. If the Canadiens can get healthy and Tampa Bay can improve in their own sports betting end, they could make things difficult for the Maple Leafs and Florida, while the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, and defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins all appear to be locks to make the playoffs.

In the Western conference, there has been a ton of pay head turnaround with the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, and Anaheim Ducks among the teams on the outside looking in while the defending conference champion Vancouver Canucks are stuck in seventh. While the East was easy to break down in terms of change from a year ago and the factors that made that big difference, it isn’t nearly as easy in the west where so many teams have proven they can compete. The St. Louis Blue have turned things around under new head coach Ken Hitchcock and have won three in a row, while the Minnesota Wild are just two points back of the Chicago Blackhawks for first place. The Blackhawks, Canucks, and Detroit Red Wings all appear to be locks to get in to the postseason as legitimate contenders, but beyond that big three anything can happen.

With the standings so close in both conferences there is little doubt that a lot will change in the betonline standings between now and the end of the regular season, the only question being which teams are legitimate and which need some more seasoning. The next month will be crucial in determining the contenders from the pretenders ahead of the NHL trade deadline, and while it may be tempting to jump on some hot teams in the early going, it may be a better idea to stick with the teams that should be locks to make the postseason.

The NHL has had an action packed first quarter of the season, as things could literally not be any tighter. Entering tonight’s action, eight points separate the first place team in the Eastern Conference from the last place team. On the other hand, in the Western Conference, seven points are the distinguishing feat between the first and last bookie software teams. Here are the latest picks.

Boston Bruins v Buffalo Sabres – The Bruins and Sabres collide in a matchup that was expected to be the talk of the Northeast Division this season. During the offseason, the Sabres were one of the busier teams, acquiring a few marquee free agents. On the contrary, the Bruins kept their roster basically the same after winning the first Stanley Cup in nearly 40 years. However, the main talk regarding tonight’s game at least from a media standpoint, is will the Sabres seek revenge, for Bruins star Milan Lucic injuring star goalie Ryan Miller?

In our opinion, this game will be a tight checking affair, as the points at this point in the season, are much more important then getting revenge. As well, most revenge games physically, are from a team that is far out of the playoff picture taking on a contender. For that reason, this game means too much statistically, and fans can expect to take the under.

Chicago Blackhawks v San Jose Sharks – In a rematch of the sports betting Western Finals from two years ago, the struggling Blackhawks take on the San Jose Sharks, in their first game since getting demolished nine to two by the Edmonton Oilers. Chicago has struggled mightily this season, as their power play has been non-existent. On the contrary, San Jose is cruising at the moment, and will be looking to continue their dominant ways by beating Chicago.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were always due for a letdown after a huge emotional win over Washington on Saturday night, and now they’ll try to bounce back from a loss when they continue on a southern road trip in Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.

Maple Leafs Lightning Odds – Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET

Toronto (11-8-2) got off to a slow start in a 3-2 loss in Carolina on Sunday, but a Bodog review would have told you to avoid the Leafs a night after a 7-1 thrashing of the Capitals at home in front of a nationally-televised audience. Phil Kessel continued his torrid start to the season with a pair of third-period goals, while Ben Scrivens had 38 saves for the Leafs, who are still missing No.1 goalie James Reimer due to a concussion. Overall, Toronto has lost six of their last eight but as of Monday, they were still tied with Buffalo atop the Northeast division. They’re also counting on their blue line to step in the face of an injury to Mike Komiserek , who is out for at least two months with a broken arm.

The Lightning (9-8-2) have dropped three of four after a 4-2 loss to New Jersey, and a 3-0 deficit in the second period sealed their fate. Martin St. Louis and Ryan Shannon lit the lamp, while Dwayne Roloson stopped 20 shots for the Lightning, who suffered their second loss of the season at home, and your per head bookie will tell you that teams need to protect their home ice to be a contender in the NHL regular season: Tampa Bay is 6-2-0 at St. Pete Times Forum so far in 2011-12 and when they get their road form up to par, they’ll challenge for the Eastern Conference title.

Your bookie software should favor the Lightning at home, where they are 4-1 in their last five against Toronto, with three games coming in over the posted total. The Leafs are 5-5 on the road this year and with their issues in goal due to the injury issues of Reimer, the defense has been poor as of late, and the injury to Komiserek doesn’t help matters. The Lightning are strong at home and they won’t want to lose two in a row in front of their fans, so that could mean a long night for whoever starts in goal for Toronto. It will likely be Jonas Gustavsson, who played very well against Washington on Saturday night and he needed it as he was taking a bit of heat in the Toronto media. It could start up again as the Lightning should be your sports betting online pick at home on Tuesday.

Sports Betting Overview
The Nashville Predators had been building quite a team until some of the key players were lost to free agency last off-season. But that did not seem to affect the remaining players very much as the Predators are second in the Central Division and look to be challenging for a playoff spot. The Predators are a hard-working bunch of hockey players that will not dazzle you with their brilliance or make you think back to the 1980’s glory days of the Edmonton Oilers. The Predators grind in the corners and make smart passes to the center of the ice. Occasionally, a Predator may miss an empty net from only a few feet out, but those things happen. The Predators have good goaltending and figure to be around when the playoffs start next year.

The Minnesota Wild has been quietly building a contender for the past few years, but now the secret is out. Any of the price per head sports fans in Minnesota that had never heard of goaltender Niklas Backstrom will start hearing about him now. Backstrom has two shutouts and a 1.97 goals against average already in this young season. The Wild play a suffocating style of defense that takes up large portions of the ice for most of the game. But the Wild do have good scorers such as Matt Cullen and Devin Setoguchi that can score goals at key moments. This is a good team in Minnesota, and the Wild fans may have more to cheer about when the playoffs arrive.

Nashville Predators
The bookie software shows that the Predators will go only as far as goaltender Pekka Rinne can take it. By the looks of things, that could be pretty far. In 17 games played this season, Rinne has won 10 of them and has three shutouts to go along with a 2.12 goals against average. He is helped by s stifling defense that will have its hands full with some of these Minnesota Wild forwards. But Rinne should be able to stand up against the onslaught that the Wild will bring. Don’t forget that the Predators can score goals as well. The Predators have 50 goals on the season compared to Minnesota’s 41. If Nashville needs to turn on the bet online power to score some goals, it can certainly do that.

Minnesota Wild
The Wild pretty much work the same way that Nashville does. Minnesota will do only as well as Backstrom does, but Minnesota has a strong defense and creative goal scorers that could give the Predators problems. Setoguchi is the one that the Predators will have to keep an eye on as he has been able to put the puck in the net more consistently in the last few games. With Backstrom coming off of a shutout win on the road in Colorado, it is not out of the question to think that he could do it again at home in Minnesota.

The Bottom Line
The NHL fans in Minnesota are hard to please because they know their hockey. But the Wild are playing an exciting brand of hockey that has made the fans in Minnesota believe that this team can make the playoffs. The Predators will be there come playoff time as well, but this game will be a grinding affair that will see the Predators falling just short.

Pick: Minnesota Wild

When the Montreal Canadiens welcomed back Mike Cammaleri and Scott Gomez to their lineup prior to their 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators, it may have served as a sign of things to come for a club that is slowly beginning to piece things together after a slow start. The Canadiens have won six of their past eight games on the heels of a six-game slide, and have climbed back into the Eastern conference playoff picture after being buried early on. The key to Montreal’s success could be the return of several notable NHL players, as the team looks to finally play at full strength.

The biggest addition will be the return of Andrei Markov, who continues to make progress in the rehab of a knee injury that has kept him out for most of the past two seasons. Unlike last time when Montreal welcomed him back too soon, the team is now confident that he can make a long term return now that the knee is back to full strength. It could take a couple of games for the former All Star to get back to a high level after missing so much time, but when he gets there he will give the Canadiens that top defenseman they have been lacking. Markov will undoubtedly skate in the top-four at even strength, while also getting top powerplay minutes and time shorthanded as well. A strong point producer, Markov is the type of defenseman that can accelerate the team’s play at both ends of the ice, and his return will be vital for a team that will have to continue to battle to make up for a slow sports betting start.

While Andrei Kostitsyn should also make his return soon after missing a couple of games, the Canadiens will get another big boost on defense, where Chris Campoli will draw back into the lineup soon. Signed to round out the top-six, Campoli is another player that could see some time in special teams situations, and although he won’t have as big of an impact as Markov, the depth will surely make an intertops difference in Montreal.

As we approach the quarter mark of the season in the NHL, the Canadiens are right there in the thick of things in the East at 7-7-2. Young forwards Max Pacioretty and Lars Eller appear to finally be blossoming in to their roles, with Pacioretty surprising everyone by leading the Canadiens in scoring with seven goals. Tomas Plekanec has a team-high 14 points and continues to be one of the most underrated players in the NHL with the ability to perform in all situations, while more should be expected from the other veterans including Cammalleri, Gomez, Brian Gionta, and Eric Cole. Part of the problem has been a lack of consistency out of the gate, something that should be fixed with more urgency. There is still time for the team to turn things around in Montreal, and with the return of a couple of key pieces, they should be ready to make a pay head run in the Eastern conference standings.

Sports Betting Overview
The Chicago Blackhawks knew that it had found its goaltender when Corey Crawford took the starting job from veteran Marty Turco last season and got the Blackhawks into the playoffs. After Chicago won the Stanley Cup at the end of the 2009-2010 season, there was a fire sale of all of the role players that helped Chicago win the championship. That made the 2010-2011 season uncomfortable for players and fans. But the core of that championship team was left intact, and now the new role players in Chicago have helped the Blackhawks to be a top Western Conference contender once again.

It has been a rough year for Canucks’ goalie Roberto Luongo. The price per head sports fans have been extremely hard on Luongo ever since the Canucks lost the Cup last year to the Boston Bruins. Luongo does not help his own cause by having public tantrums when he is replaced in net or when he pouts in the locker room because he did not start. When this season started, it was obvious that Roberto Luongo was not focused. He was letting in goals that he would normally stop, but the team stood behind him. It looks like things are turning around for Luongo and the Canucks after a rough start to the season. This game against the Blackhawks will be a good test to see how far the Canucks have come.

Chicago Blackhawks
The price per head bookie experts noticed something about the Blackhawks after its Stanley Cup win in 2009-2010. While the Blackhawks were allowing players like Dustin Byfuglein and Ben Eager to leave, it was keeping veterans like Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith around to maintain stability in the locker room. Marian Hossa knows that superstars like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews operate better when there is no drama or disruption in the locker room. That sort of stability has allowed the Blackhawks to survive the post-Cup fire sale and is one of the main reasons why Chicago is at the top of the Central Division at the early part of this season. This is a very balanced Chicago Blackhawks team that is getting decent goaltending. Corey Crawford is consistent but not spectacular. But that may be all the Blackhawks need to stay on top this year.

Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks fans have loved the regular season success the team has had the past few years, but the playoff failures are starting to take their toll on the team and its fans. A 5 dimes review of last year’s Stanley Cup finals shows a Vancouver team that was beaten up by the Bruins and outplayed in the final game of the series. The Canucks made some changes to become a little bigger, but it sacrificed speed for size. The Canucks spent the first few games of the season adjusting to the changes made to the roster. Now it looks like Vancouver is ready to re-establish its regular season dominance over the NHL. The fans just keep holding their collective breath until the playoffs arrive.

The Bottom Line
This will be one of the better NHL games of the week as these two teams are evenly matched. But the Blackhawks have a flow to their game that the Canucks have not quite achieved yet. The Canucks will get there, but Vancouver is not quite to the level of Chicago just yet.

Pick: Chicago Blackhawks

The NHL is coming up to the quarter of the season mark, as on Saturday night, all 30 teams will have played 20 games. Thus far in the season, there has been many surprises, such as the good records of bottom feeder teams, and the early struggles of stronger teams. With that being the case, sports betting enthusiasts are wondering if some teams are hitting the panic button a little too early on their season. Here is a preview of the weekend and some thoughts on the season thus far.

Despite being in a tie for fourth overall in the standings, the Toronto Maple Leafs are on the verge of hitting the panic button on their season. Currently owning a record of nine – five – one the Leafs have dropped the last two games getting outscored 12 to one in that span. The main areas of concern in Leafs Nation, is the bookie software special teams and goaltending. Entering tomorrow night’s game against the St. Louis Blues, the Leafs will need to win or risk losing three in a row. Historically, by the weekend if they lose again to an upbeat Ottawa Senators club, the Leafs coaching staff and roster could be changed dramatically.

On the other hand, another team that hit the panic button a little too early in our opinion was the aforementioned St. Louis Blues. Despite only being one game below 500, the Blues evicted Head Coach Davis Payne, in favor of former Stanley Cup winning coach Ken Hitchcock. Hitchcock is experienced in turning teams around, but considering Payne only was the coach for 18 months, was the move really fair? If Hitchcock can keep the wins coming with games against Toronto tomorrow and then Tuesday against Detroit, the move to bring him in will look amazing.

Toronto Maple Leafs fans have to be impressed by the start of their team, but fans of the Dallas Stars have to be over the moon as their team is second in the NHL in total points as of Monday. On Tuesday, the Stars will be in the nation’s capital to take on Washington, where the Capitals are perfect this season.

Stars Capitals Odds – Tuesday, 7:00 PM ET

The Stars (10-3-0) have now won three in a row after a 5-2 win in Carolina on Sunday, led by two goals from Jamie Benn, while Michael Ryder, Stephane Robidas and Eric Nystrom added singles for the Stars, who are still a darkhorse bet to win the Stanley Cup according to Wagerweb reviews, but they’re gaining steam with defensive play and a young nucleus. Kari Lehtonen had another solid game with 30 saves and he is giving the Stars a lot of confidence at the back of their defense, which allows Dallas to push forward, but they’re never going to be too adventurous, although they did explode in a 7-6 overtime win over Colorado last Friday; that game is definitely the exception to the rule.

The Capitals (9-3-0) got tired in the second half of a back-to-back on Saturday, falling 5-3 on the road against the New York Islanders and pay per head players will always be wary of a team playing on two straight nights. Washington had a 2-0 lead after the first period thanks to goals by Alex Ovchekin and Joel Ward, but the Islanders took control in the final 20 minutes. Brooks Laich added a power-play marker while Tomas Vokoun stopped 30 shots for the Capitals, who have certainly cooled off after winning seven in a row to start the season, but regular-season success is meaningless to Washington; it’s what they do in the playoffs that counts.

Washington should be the home favorites in your pay per head sportsbook, but they’re only 1-3-1 in their last five meetings at home with the Stars since 1999 with four games going over the posted total. The Capitals are 6-0-0 at home so far, while Dallas is 4-2-0 on the road, which is a solid record, but the edge goes to Washington, who will want to bounce back from their loss on Saturday and they’ve generally been a good home team anyway. The Stars’ story has been nice to read early in the season, but it’s going to be tough for them to keep up this pace all season, especially on the road. It’ll be a matchup of Washington’s offense against Dallas’ defense, but at home, take the Capitals to come out on top in your favorite online sportsbooks.

It is easy to blame the Boston Bruins’ slow sports betting start on the proverbial “Stanley Cup hangover”, but the more reasonable explanation is right there in the statistics. With just 22 goals through 10 games, the Bruins have managed to clinch just three wins, and are just one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the worst record in the NHL. A closer look at their results reveals plenty of reason for optimism that the team has the potential to turn things around, as four of their seven losses have come by just a single goal.

While the Bruins will always be a defensive-minded team as long as reigning Vezina and Conn Smythe trophy winner Tim Thomas is between the pipes and captain Zdeno Chara is roaming along the blue line, the team will need to find some offense in order to have the chance to defend their NHL title. While they never logged top-line minutes, veteran Mark Recchi and Michael Ryder were consistent offensive threats that provided depth scoring and help on the powerplay. With Recchi retiring this past summer and Ryder moving on to the Dallas Stars, Boston’s lack of offense has been punctuated by a slow start, although not from a lack of trying. The Bruins rank fifth in the NHL in shots on goal with an average of 33.4 per game, but 25th in goals per game with an average of just 2.10.

The effort up front will begin with sophomore center Tyler Seguin and veteran Patrice Bergeron, who lead the club in shots through 10 games with 34 each. Seguin has been moved around by head coach Claude Julien in an effort to get one of his top offensive threats to produce, while Bergeron will feel more comfortable in a second line role after filling in up front for David Krejci while the latter was injured. But while Seguin has 10 points in as many games, more will be expected of veterans such as Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton, who have combined for just five goals through a combined 20 games despite playing top minutes and having plenty of pay head opportunities. Youngster Bard Marchand and Rich Peverley will be leaned on to provide some depth scoring as they look to break out of their funk, but as in most cases patience might be the best remedy.

One advantage that the Bruins will have over the next two weeks will be the ability to play on home ice, as they play six of their next seven at the TD Garden, beginning against the surprising Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. Thomas will be asked to hold down the fort in the interim while the offense gets things together up front, but don’t expect Boston to be at the bottom of the Eastern conference for much longer as the offense breaks out over the next couple of intertops weeks.