The oldest sports championship trophy in North America is Lord Stanley’s Cup. The Stanley Cup is presented each year to the championship team from the National Hockey League. The hockey season is long. It starts in mid fall and plays out all the way into spring. Chasing the Stanley Cup is one of the most grueling and physical activities in sports. Unlike almost every other championship trophy there is only one Stanley Cup. It is passed from team to team each time a new champion is crowned. There are two distinct traditions that go with the cup. One, the names of the players, coaches, and management are inscribed on the base that mounts the original cup. Two, the championship team gets to take a sip of champagne from the cup. The Stanley Cup comes with over a hundred years of tradition and excellence. For most hockey players winning the Stanley Cup is the hardest thing they will ever do. Those who have one it more than once are part of a small and select club. The National Hockey League playoffs are currently underway. The league is split into two conferences, east and west. The playoffs are currently in the conference semi-final stage with the Tampa Bay Lightning becoming the first team to advance to the conference finals. Needless to say the gambling on the hockey playoffs is really starting to heat up.
Already the number one seed in the eastern conference has fallen. This has sent the online sports gambling odds makers into a mix. As the finals draw nearer odds and book makers are releasing odds that would put an unlikely team at the head of the pack. The Vancouver Canucks have never been a true power house hockey team. The team has been a part of the National Hockey League for forty seasons. During that time they have made the playoffs twenty-three times. They have never won the Stanley Cup. Many online sports bookmakers feel that this year could be different. The hold a two games to one lead over the Nashville Predators in the western semi-finals after knocking off the defending Stanley Cup champs, the Chicago Blackhawks, in the first round. They also won the Presidents Cup by accumulating the most points during the regular season. Online sports gambling sites such as WBX.com are giving the Canucks odds at 97/50. Other online sports gambling sites such as 888Sport, BlueSq, Coral.co.uk, Stan James, ToteSport, and William Hill Online are offering near even odds at 2/1.
It seems that this season is a season of underdogs. The Tampa Bay Lightning which has struggled to make the playoffs since winning the Stanley Cup in 2004 came back from a three to one deficit to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins. They then went on to sweep the Washington Capitals and vaulted into the Eastern Finals. Some online sports gambling sites are giving them offs of 7/2 and 4/1 to win the championship. Other underdog teams teams such as the San Jose Sharks are garnering odds of 13/5. They currently have a three to nothing lead over NHL powerhouse team, the Detroit Red Wings.
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