The 2019-20 NHL season is set to get underway on Wednesday night as eight teams are in action, so that means it’s time to talk about NHL futures odds and the best NJ online sports betting wagers.
The four teams from the Pennsylvania-New York-New Jersey area don’t start their seasons until later in the week, so we decided to take a look at their prospects for the coming season.
Each of the four teams now have exciting, young rosters and these squads are among many experts’ sleeper picks. Let’s take a closer look at the teams and see what are the best season-long bets to make with each of them:
Philadelphia Flyers Bet
- Odds To Win Stanley Cup: +3000
- Odds To Make The Playoffs: Yes +105, No -136
- Regular Season Point Total: 90.5
Have the Philadelphia Flyers finally found a goalie? That’s a major question mark heading into the season, just as it has been for the last decade or so.
The difference this year is the Flyers may have a good starter in Carter Hart, who gave the team a big shot in the arm last season. He won 10 in a row at one point but finished the year with a lofty 2.83 GAA.
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The other key to this team will be the coaching staff. Alain Vigneault is now the bench boss and he’s taken two previous teams to the Stanley Cup Final and won the Presidents’ Trophy three times.
He has a talented roster to work with but one that has somewhat underachieved. This is team that has a lot of talented prospects at the bottom of their roster – guys like Joel Farabee, Connor Bunnaman, Carsen Twarynski, Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim – who are all likely to see ice time.
My prediction is that this team gets stronger as the season goes, returns to the postseason but isn’t a real threat in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Pick: Will Make Playoffs At +105
New York Rangers Bet
- Odds To Win Stanley Cup: +3500
- Odds To Make The Playoffs: Yes +140, No -182
- Regular Season Point Total: 89.5
The Rangers were one of the worst teams in the NHL last season as they finished with just 78 points in 82 games. Only three other teams in the Eastern Conference had less points and a worse goal differential than their -45.
The good news is that the Rangers had a great offseason, which should fast-track this team’s rebuild. Not only did they win the Artemi Panarin sweepstakes, they also acquired Jacob Trouba from the Winnipeg Jets and drafted Kaapo Kakko with the second pick in the NHL Entry Draft.
While the Rangers are relevant again, I’m not sure that they’re a playoff team just yet. They have a good foundation for the future but their 2019-20 success will depend on guys like Adam Fox, Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, Vitali Kravtsov and Libor Hajek taking the next step forward.
They also need Kakko to deliver right off the bat and Pavel Buchnevich to have a breakout season. It’s worth noting that Kakko had just one point in the preseason with zero goals.
The Rangers do have an exciting core for the future but at this point, I don’t see enough proven parts to say that this team will be good or not. The oddsmakers are asking for a 12-point jump from last season but I’m just not as optimistic as they are.
Pick: Under 89.5 Points
New York Islanders Bet
- Odds To Win Stanley Cup: +2800
- Odds To Make The Playoffs: Yes +121, No -159
- Regular Season Point Total: 89.5
The Islanders were one of the biggest surprises of the 2018-19 season. Not only did General Manager Lou Lamoriello and head coach Barry Trotz change the culture of the team, they delivered success much sooner than anyone anticipated. The Islanders made it to the second round of the playoffs.
The big question entering this season whether or not they can duplicate the success in net. Vezina Trophy finalist Robin Lehner signed with the Chicago Blackhawks after him and Thomas Greiss combined to allow the fewest goals in the NHL last season.
They now have Semyon Varlamov paired with Greiss.
There’s not a lot that’s different about this team but it feels like the teams around them – including the three in this list – have made improvements. Even so, Trotz’ teams tend to be consistent. I’d put a small bet on them surprising once again and making the playoffs.
Pick: Will Make Playoffs At +121
New Jersey Devils Bet
- Odds To Win Stanley Cup: +2500
- Odds To Make The Playoffs: Yes -115, No -115
- Regular Season Point Total: 91.5
There’s a lot of hype surrounding the New Jersey Devils these days. This is a team that has a former Hart Trophy winner in Taylor Hall, Jack Hughes (the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft), and added defenseman P.K. Subban, Wayne Simmonds and Nikitia Gusev.
It’ll all come down to what they have in net with Cory Schneider. The veteran has fallen off in recent years as his save percentage hasn’t been better than .908 in three seasons.
Part of the problem is that this team simply doesn’t have a good blue line in front of the goalies. Subban will help quite a bit and guys like Damon Severson and Will Butcher are decent, but there’s not a lot behind them.
And while a couple of bricks short of a load when everyone is healthy, this unit is in big trouble if their depth will be tested.
There’s a lot of hype surrounding the Devils but I think they’re still a good year away. I’d bet on them missing the playoffs.
Pick: Won’t Make The Playoffs -115
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