Steve Starr
- BetOnline still has the Vegas Golden Knights (+150) as the heavy favorite in the Pacific
- The Oilers (+400) odds to win the division are surging after an 8-3-1 start to the season
- Sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference, the Sharks’ odds have sunk all the way to +1400
It’s usually at this time of year when Oilers fans start day-dreaming about who to take with the No. 1 overall pick, but with eight wins in 12 games, Connor McDavid’s club surprisingly sits atop the Pacific and is tied for first in the Western Conference.
Edmonton’s hot start has caused their odds to win the division to surge all the way up to +400 from +1000 in our pre-season preview.
Let’s check out the latest odds at BetOnline to see what other teams are rising and falling.
NHL PACIFIC DIVISION ODDS
| Team | Odds |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +150 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +400 |
| Arizona Coyotes | +450 |
| Calgary Flames | +700 |
| Vancouver Canucks | +800 |
| Anaheim Ducks | +1400 |
| San Jose Sharks | +1400 |
| Los Angeles Kings | +5000 |
EDMONTON OILERS
If the question is whether the Oilers will keep winning, then consider me a pessimist.
McDavid and Leon Draisaitl enter Tuesday’s action tied for second in NHL scoring with 21 points (nearly two per game), but nine of the team’s other 11 forwards have combined for just two goals this season.
– Connor McDavid (@cmcdavid97) vs. Sidney Crosby on Saturday.
– Steven Stamkos (@RealStamkos91) closes in on his 400th goal.
– Ryan Getzlaf set to play in his 1,000th game.All this and more in the week ahead! @NHLdotcom https://t.co/HaclR02R6F
— NHL (@NHL) October 28, 2019
Worse yet, Edmonton has played from behind in nine of 12 outings this year. They’ve only led for 188:30 minutes and trailed for 195:38.
Turning in a perfect 5-0 record with a .922 save percentage, Mikko Koskinen might prove to be the one good decision of the entire Peter Chiarelli tenure. But, if the goaltending falters and the Oilers continue to get no secondary scoring, the team will be lucky just to make the playoffs.
SAN JOSE SHARKS
On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Sharks sit a point out of last place in the Western Conference after coming within two wins of making it to the Stanley Cup Final last season.
Rock bottom came on Sunday with a 5-2 loss to a rebuilding Senators team that dropped San Jose’s record to 4-7-1, the farthest they’ve been below .500 at this point in a season since 2003-04.
It’s not easy to pinpoint what’s gone wrong for Peter DeBoer’s club simply because the answer is everything.
Sharks Captain Logan Couture calls out two Sharks players for ‘selfish play’ – Meier and Labanc were both on the ice for nearly 90 seconds in Overtime https://t.co/HzA8WiodLr
— HockeyTroll.ca (@Hockeytroll_ca) October 23, 2019
Both Martin Jones and Aaron Dell have goals-against-averages over 3.39 and save-percentages under .892., and every forward aside from Evander Kane is off to a slow start offensively.
Captain Logan Couture has one goal, Timo Meier has two, and Tomas Hertl has three for a Sharks team that currently ranks 23rd in average goals per game (2.58).
While San Jose’s veteran team could certainly rally to make the playoffs, the division seems out of the question at this point, justifying their odds dropping from +450 before the season to +1400 today.
OTHER RISERS AND FALLERS
The Golden Knights (+150) remain favorites in the Pacific after a workmanlike 8-5-0 start to the year, while the Coyotes’ odds have seen a small boost (+450 from +550) after the team won six of their past seven games.
With largely the same roster that captured the best record in the Western Conference last year, the Flames are a strong value after a sluggish start to the season (6-5-2) caused their odds to fall from +450 to +700.
From @travisyost: Drew Doughty & Anze Kopitar were two of the best play-driving skaters in the #NHL, but the Kings’ ‘top unit’ is struggling to drive results now – and they’re still being paid like superstars…
MORE: https://t.co/g3XHoldNF3 #TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/ph5wuZXK06
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) October 29, 2019
Finally, both the Canucks (+800) and Ducks (+1400) have seen their odds improve from +1200 and +3300, respectively, after impressive starts to the year.
And the Kings have been exactly as bad as everyone expected, tied for a league-low 8 points with no hope for the future in sight.
If you’re looking to place a bet today, I’d stick with the favorites in Vegas or roll the dice on the Flames.
Best Bet: Calgary (7-1)
