If the playoffs started today, some of the teams we thought would be contenders for the Stanley Cup—Tampa Bay, Nashville, maybe even the Dallas Stars—would not even be part of the program. It's not even Christmas yet, however, so good thing for them.
But it's not too early, not here anyway, to start thinking about the Cup chances of others we might have discounted but are showing they shouldn't have been. The New York Rangers and the Columbus Blue Jackets, for instance, weren't on many true-contender lists when the season started. But would anyone bet a lot against either team if the playoffs did indeed start today?
A lot can, and will, change in the next five months. Some teams listed here probably wouldn't be part of a revised one come April. But let's give them some props here and discuss realistic chances of Lord Stanley's silver punch bowl residing in their town next year.
Here we go with our list of dark-horse Cup contenders, with odds of winning for each:
Columbus Blue Jackets
Why it could happen: In late October, the wiseguys in Las Vegas, per ESPN, had t ...
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Article written by Adrian Dater
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