For those of you who are frequent viewers of my articles, you are very familiar with the divided hockey household I grew up in. With both my parents dedicated to the Chicago Blackhawks and my sister and me dedicated to the Detroit Redwings, hockey season is always full of emotion and a desire for our teams to beat the other.

However, this year, neither my sister and me nor my parents have been able to brag about our team’s successes. Unfortunately, the season hasn’t looked so good for the Hawks or the Wings, and as such, no one in the Stoddart household is holding out hope that their team is going to make it to the playoffs this year.

Still, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of incredible teams playing it out for this year’s title of Stanley Cup Champions. As always, there are teams who have delivered in ways the NHL would have expected, and those that have captured everyone by surprise–so who should we be keeping an eye on in this year’s playoffs?

I don’t bet on sports for two reasons: the first, I really don’t understand how it works–although I’ll admit, my boyfriend has shown me a few helpful hints along the way, and the second, I do not trust the NHL.

Regardless of whether a team is playing well or not, the NHL is not exactly a franchise in which you can place sure-fire bets and have confidence that the team you bet on is going to bring home a win for you.

Now, that’s not to say that it isn’t exciting and worthwhile to watch, because believe me, it is. But for someone who isn’t confident with betting in the first place, betting on a sport that is reasonably unpredictable probably isn’t the best idea.

That said, with NHL playoffs beginning on April 11^th, hockey fans everywhere are paying close attention to the outcomes of the next few games and where they should be placing their money. I may not bet on sports, but I have been following the league, and for those of you who want to place money on this year’s potential Stanley Cup victors, here’s what I can tell you:

In looking at the current Eastern and Western conference leaders, there’s nothing too surprising. The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently dominating the Eastern Conference (and are second in the league at large) with a total of 106 points. Leading the Western Conference is the Nashville Predators, who are leading the league with a total of 107 points.

Next, of course, we look at the smaller division groups–Metropolitan, Atlantic, Central, and Pacific divisions, which are being led by The Washington Capitals with a total of 95 points, the Tampa Bay Lightning (as previously mentioned,) the Nashville Predators (as previously mentioned,) and lastly and perhaps most surprisingly, the Las Vegas Golden Knights with a total of 101 points.

So, what does this mean for betting?

Let’s start by looking at the two big leaders of this season–the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning. While the Predators seem like they would be a safe-bet given their current standings in the league and their close Stanley Cup victory last season, keep in mind that majority of people are going to be betting on these guys to take home the W. While the Predators have a strong leaderboard- Pekka Rinne being one of their largest assets with a .928 SV%–they’re not the most reliable bet to make, primarily because they don’t have the ice-action that the Lightning have.

Tampa Bay has had an incredible season this year, and it isn’t the only year that they’ve had attention. The past few seasons, they’ve shown themselves a strong team and a team to watch, and this 2017-2018 season is shaping out to show us why. Similar to Rinne, the Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has had a great season with a .921 SV% (not too far behind Rinne). Beyond that, the Lightning have–what I like to call–the ultimate dynamic duo on the ice.

Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos are arguably the most talked-about duo this season, and there’s a reason why. These two always manage to formulate plays and find one another on the ice, and in total, they’re doing pretty well individually.

Kucherov is currently a close second in the league behind Oilers Connor McDavid with a total of 95 points this season, and Stamkos just seventh with 86 points. While the Preds may have last-years close victory to push them over the edge as the new Stanley cup Champions in many people’s minds, I’m not so sure they have the power the Lightning have.

Additionally, in analyzing our other two teams leading both the Metropolitan and Pacific Divisions, my advice would be to steer-clear of the Caps this season, and if you are going to bet on one of the so-called underdog teams, put your money on Vegas.

I hate to be harsh here, but let’s be honest: every single year the Caps find themselves in the same position this close to the playoffs, and then they fizzle out. For what reason? I have no idea, but if you believe that past behavior predicts future behavior, the Caps are NOT the team for you.

I wrote an article earlier this season that predicted the Golden Knights would be a team to watch, and boy do I wish I had put money down in Vegas on that one. For being a new team to the NHL, Vegas has proved themselves worthy of a Stanley Cup trophy, but there’s really no explanation for why this is the case.

While they have a few strong players on their team– most notably former Penguin and current goalie Marc Andre-Fleury, as well as Center’s Jonathon Marchessault and William Karlsson–the Kings have somehow managed to pull-off several big wins this season, and I’ll be the first to say I’m still skeptical of how they’ve managed to do so.

So, who’s the safest team to bet on for the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs? I don’t know for sure, but if you’re narrowing it down between the four teams mentioned above, I would strongly place bets on Tampa Bay, and Vegas.

Just remember, during playoffs, anything can happen, and if you don’t believe me, here's a little video to refresh your memory.