2011 NHL Playoffs Preview: Sleeper to Make a Run at the Stanley Cup

2011 NHL Playoffs Preview: Sleeper Team to Make a Run at the Stanley Cup: Bettors have to love the National Hockey League. While playoff upsets are somewhat of a rarity in most professional sports, a No. 8 seed knocking off a No. 1 seed is regular occurrence in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While unpredictability isn’t always a good thing when it comes to placing bets, upsets mean a lot more money is potentially up for grabs.

A hot goalie is all it takes to make a title run in the NHL, and the Buffalo Sabres (+2,700 Odds to Win 2011 Stanely Cup) happen to have two of them. Olympic standout Ryan Miller has been playing his best in the last month and a half of the regular season, and when he was forced to miss a few games with an injury, backup Jhonas Enroth proved to be a brick wall as well. Miller will get the call in the playoffs, but it is nice to know that a quality second option exists if something unexpected happens to Miller.

The tandem of Miller and Enroth has powered the Sabres to a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 games. During the stretch, Buffalo went from the playoff bubble to clinching a spot in the postseason. The Sabres will likely be the sixth or seventh seed when all is said and done, but it doesn’t matter who the opponent is when Miller and Enroth won’t let anyone put the puck in the net.

On offense, the Sabres are led by a pair of 30 goal scorers in Thomas Vanek and Drew Stafford. Vanek has been the star of the scoring attack all year, and he currently leads the team in goals (32), assists (41) and total points (73). That being said, the Sabres are not a squad built around a single player, and that could be an advantage come playoff time. Stafford and veteran Jason Pominville have combined for 51 goals, and youngsters Tyler Ennis and Tyler Meyers have both flashed their upside throughout the season. Both young players have been very streaky this year, but both have been playing well during the stretch run.

Buffalo would be an even bigger threat had Derek Roy not been lost for the year in December. The silver lining to losing one of its best players is that the injury occurred early enough in the year to allow the rest of the players to adapt to their new roles. The Sabres struggled in the month after Roy went down, but it is no coincidence that the team has been getting better and better the longer the season goes.

As long as Miller continues to turn away shots, Buffalo has a chance to make a surprise run. The Sabres have a well-rounded offensive attack, and although they aren’t an explosive scoring team, they can certainly score enough to take advantage of Miller’s hot goaltending. Bettors looking for this year’s underdog should turn toward Buffalo.