The San Jose Sharks are set to play the Los Angeles Kins in a best-of-seven series in the quarterfinals of the 2011 NHL Playoffs. Feels good, right? Playoff hockey means a lot of things for me (as a Sharks fan, it means a lot of alcohol and disappointment - like Valentine's Day), but mostly, it means that I'm going to get ready to throw some money down and see if I can't luck my way into being right about something. My number one rule is that I won't be on my own team though, not ever, so there's no NHL Playoff bets outside of the Eastern Conference quarters, semis and of course, the finals. When the Sharks are involved though, I don't want my personal biases to drain my wallet.
↵Still, looking at the betting lines is always a plus. Bodog.com released their lines for the playoffs and the Sharks fare pretty well overall. They're -280 favorites to win the series over the Kings, as they probably should be at this point. They're then the second favorite to win the Western Conference, sitting at 7/2, behind the Vancouver Canucks who are at 7/5. San Jose is followed up by the Detroit Red Wings at 9/2 and the Ducks trail them at 9/1.
↵Overall, the Sharks rank third likeliest to win the whole shebang sitting at 7/1 odds, just above the Flyers at 8/1. Both the Washington Capitals and Canucks are ahead of San Jose, at 11/2 and 3/1, respectively. I have to imagine the odds aren't as good as season's past, but still favorable numbers for a team that was so inconsistent this season.
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