Oilers favored in Western Conference
A team that hasn’t celebrated a championship in many year, as the Edmonton Oilers lining up to final return to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Oilers come into the 2017-18 season as a 4/1 favorite to win the Western Conference. Other short odds to win are the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild, who each have 6/1 odds. The defending champs, the Nashville Predators are one of three teams with 7/1 odds to win.
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The Oilers finally showed signs of life in the 2016-17 season, reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2006 after going 47-26-9. The Oilers lost in seven games in the second round of the playoffs. Edmonton brought in a lot of new faces for this season, but will be relying heavily on Connor McDavid, who had 100 points last season.
The Blackhawks are coming off a 206-17 season that saw them post the Western Conference’s best record at 50-23-9. However, they were swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Predators. They have lost in the first round of the last two playoffs, but were the Stanley Cup champs in 2015.
Minnesota was second in the Western Conference during the regular season last year, posting a 49-25-8 record. The Wild lost in the first round of the playoffs as well, falling to the St. Louis Blues in five games. The Wild lost Martin Hanzal in free agency to the Dallas Stars. The Wild have never won the Western Conference and their only appearance in the conference finals was in 2003, when they were sept by the Ducks.