2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Preview: Eastern Conference Odds, Betting Trends

The addition of one defenseman and the subtraction of another may be the deciding factor in the race for the Eastern Conference crown in the 2017 NHL playoffs.

The Washington Capitals are hoping a trade for Kevin Shattenkirk will put them over the top and get them back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1998 as the +225 betting favorites (wager $100 to win $225) to win the East at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.

Shattenkirk was acquired from the St. Louis Blues before the trade deadline, and both teams have been better since that deal was made.

Washington won the Presidents' Trophy for the second straight year as the team with the most points and will again have home-ice advantage against any opponent, including the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins if they have a rematch in the second round.

The Capitals sit with a 24.7 percent chance to win the Stanley Cup this postseason—best in the league—according to the projections at PredictionMachine.com.

The Penguins are the +350 second choice to repeat in the East and topped the Caps 4-2 en route to their fourth Stanley Cup title a year ago. However, this time they enter the postseason without defenseman Kris Letang, who recently underwent back surgery.

Letang will be missed, putting more pressure on Sidney Crosby and his teammates, starting with a tough first-round matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Blue Jackets are coming off their best campaign ever, one in which they challenged both Washington and Pittsburgh for the Metropolitan Division title much of the year.

Columbus is the +500 third choice to win the East behind the league's best goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky (41-17-5, 2.06 goals-against average, .932 save percentage). The team put together a franchise-record 16-game winning streak earlier in the season, and winning another 16 games in the playoffs would result in hoisting the Stanley Cup.

Two other teams worth mentioning as potential contenders in the East are the Montreal Canadiens (+650) and the New York Rangers (+750), who square off in an intriguing first-round matchup.

The winner of that series has the benefit of playing either the Ottawa Senators (+1100) or the Boston Bruins (+1100) in the second round, getting a much easier road to the Eastern Conference Final than the Capitals, Penguins and Blue Jackets.