Bodog Beat

The Pittsburgh Penguins enter the 2008-09 season as the favorite in the East at +250. (AI Wire Images)

The Pens have all the talent in the world, with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but it is interesting to note the past 11 Cup final runners-up have combined to win just one playoff round. Does that change your bet?

Well if it does, the East has many teams that could take top spot, including Montreal (+500), the Rangers (+700), New Jersey (+800), and Philadelphia (+800).

The Habs figure to be at the top thanks to Carey Price maturing in net and the addition of Robert Lang.

You cannot count out goal-scoring machine Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals (+900), or even a rebuilt Lightning team (+1200), to make some noise in a very deep conference.

At the very bottom you have Toronto, Atlanta, and the Islanders offering up +5000 odds to win.