Written by Graeme on Monday, October 7th, 2024
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Scott has covered the Central Division and Pacific Division.
I will be covering the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions in the East.
In this post I’m covering the Metropolitan.
Last season, the Rangers won it by three points over the Hurricanes, the only two teams to break 100. The Blue Jackets were abysmal, with a very low 66 points, and a goal difference of -63.
The Islanders and Capitals also made the playoffs.
Here are the average odds for the teams to win their division:
- Devils: 2.80
- Hurricanes: 3.10
- Rangers: 3.60
- Islanders: 15.00
- Capitals: 15.00
- Penguins: 16.00
- Flyers: 17.00
- Blue Jackets: 101.00
We advise the following sportsbooks:
Ontario: Sports Interaction and Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv
Rest of Canada: Sports Interaction, Bovada and Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv
USA: Bovada and BetOnline.
Everyone Else: Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv, Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv and 888 Sports.
If you see your team listed above and like the odds for them to win the division you can get them at most sportsbooks depending on where you live.
Metropolitan Division Winners Betting Tips
The New York Rangers are my pick.
They did not roll in a lot of changes during the off-season. However when I look at the data, I don’t believe they really needed to. You got guys like Lafreniere looking to step up big, they have a lot of depth – and I like this team a lot.
Metropolitan Division Winners Analysis Tips
New Jersey Devils:
They were a big disappointment last season. Injuries ran riot of course, and they have made a lot of very good chances. They do look like a top team on paper. But it’s all about how they work together, and it can take time. It won’t surprise me if they win the division but I don’t think the value is there.
Carolina Hurricanes:
Canes are always a beast when it comes to so many metrics. It’s mental when you look back how many years they dominate CF% & FF% etc. Based on that, it’s hard to gauge them when it comes to advanced metric analysis. They’ll be there or thereabouts, but I lean a lot further on the “thereabouts”.
New York Islanders:
The Islanders really needed to bolster their defense a lot more this year, and I don’t think that they did a good enough job there. Their CA/60 and FA/60 suffered a lot last year, and I think we’re going to see similar this season.
Washington Capitals:
They’ve made a fair amount of changes, but when you look at the specific player metrics, and what they were lacking last season, I don’t think it’s much of an improvement. I really feel like this teams strategy for the season will be “get Ovi as many goals as possible”. They do have quite the defense though, and that was a much needed change for them. They could be a surprise package with that D.
Pittsburgh Penguins:
The Penguins advanced metrics for offense were stellar last year. They just didn’t finish as well as they should. Variance? Or a hint at something worse? Some solid newcomers in there such as McGroarty, and I think variance will be on their side and they should at least make the wild card.
Philadelphia Flyers:
The Flyers actually had some really solid metrics last year and of course they had that epic collapse which hurt them. Looking forward to seeing Michkov. I feel like the Carter Hart situation really hurt them last year too. They need Tippett to step up. Jury is out on the Flyers – they will be one I’ll be watching closely early on.
Columbus Blue Jackets:
Unfortunately, it’s going to be a tough year for the Blue Jackets. Just throughout that team, there is not much to stand out for them. Defense was their biggest issue last year and I don’t see the improvements at all.
