NHL Playoff Betting Update

The Chicago Blackhawks' hopes of a Stanley Cup repeat are all but dead, while their first-round opponents, the Vancouver Canucks, are finally living up to expectations in the playoffs.

After defeating the Blackhawks 3-2 on Sunday night the Canucks are just one win away from moving on to the next round of the postseason. The Sedin twins have chewed up the Blackhawks in the series with a combined nine points in three games, while Roberto Luongo has posted a solid 1.67 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage.

The Canucks did manage to lose four games in a row twice this season, so Chicago's not totally done yet, but the fact that they have dropped to +8000 on the Stanley Cup odds at Bodog should tell you where they're headed. The Canucks, by the way, remain on top of the Cup futures at +300.

Sitting just behind the Canucks on the NHL futures list are the Washington Capitals at +500 to win the Cup, and they hold a 2-1 lead on the New York Rangers in their first-round series heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night.

New York, though, at least managed to get back into the series in Game 3 on Sunday, grabbing a 3-2 home win thanks to a late goal from Brandon Dubinsky. Way down the list at +5000 on the Bodog futures to win the championship this season, the Rangers need to pull off another win in Game 4 to give their Cup chances a boost.

One of the more interesting series right now is Los Angeles versus San Jose. With leading scorer Anze Kopitar gone for the season the Kings were supposed to roll over to the Sharks.

However, no one told Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick. San Jose took Game 1, but the Kings struck back in Game 2 behind a four-point performance from Doughty and a 34-save effort from Quick in a 4-0 shutout win. The series heads to Los Angeles on Tuesday night, where the Kings are still a +100 underdog despite their impressive showing in Game 2.