According to any online betting service you happen to check, the New Jersey Devils are the "odds on" favorites to win the upcoming playoff series with the Carolina Hurricanes. What are these odds based upon? That might be the best kept secret in sports.
The odds could simply be based upon each team's final record and seeding. Every one of the higher seeded teams are listed as favorites, although according to the experts, the Hurricanes have the best chances of any of the lower seeded teams to advance. Here are the favorites in the East according to "Capperspicks.com." (Of course the larger the negative number, the bigger the favorite, and the less money there is returned on a bet.)
- Boston -380
- Washington -300
- New Jersey -135
- Pittsburgh -165
The funny thing about the odds? Most of the gambling experts are picking the Hurricanes to pull the upset. "Cappers" chooses the Hurricanes as does Judd Hall from "Vegas Insider." Most of the hockey people from around the league and media world are as well. Even "home boy" Greg Wyshynski himself has picked the Canes.
Do the handicappers know something the rest of the world does not? That is unlikely. The most culpable notion is that heavy hitters from the New York/New Jersey area are betting in large numbers on the home team. We will see how it works out.