2021-22 NHL Season Preview: Can the Lightning Win Their Third Title In a Row?

A record number of 32 teams started the new, 2021-22 NHL season yesterday. Including the defending champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning who will try to win the Stanley Cup in the third consecutive year. They have a good chance of doing so according to the 2021-22 NHL season preview. While the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights can be their biggest rivals this season. 

The 2021-22 NHL season is back with its normal schedule, with a regular-season starting on the 12th of October and finishing in April. 82 games will be played during this period between the participating 32 teams. With the Seattle Kraken making its first appearance in the league. Teams are playing in four divisions, with the top three teams in each division plus two wild cards qualifying for the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Lightning are the defending champions who managed to win the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive year. They defeated the Montreal Canadiens in the final 4-1 on aggregate. Now Jon Cooper’s team will try to win the trophy for the third time. They would be the first team to do that since the New York Islanders’ success in 1983.

2021-22 NHL Season Preview For The Stanley Cup Winners

The Colorado Avalanche last season reached the second round in the playoffs where they were defeated by the Vegas Golden Knights. Now they are predicted to go even further and win the Stanley Cup for the third time in the club’s history. Probably they have the best roster in the league with players like Nathan MacKinnon, who can finally win this year’s Hart Trophy. Plus defender Cale Makar, the captain, Gabriel Landeskog and Finnish Mikko Rantanen. The Avalanche lost their goalkeeper, Philipp Grubauer but signed Darcy Kuemper from the Coyotes to replace him.

Online sportsbooks in the US favor them to win the title this season and offer the smallest odds, +450.00 for their victory. Followed by the defending champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning who have the odds of +600 in the 2021-22 NHL season preview. They also have amazing players including the captain, Steven Stamkos, Swedish Victor Hedman, and Russian forward Nikita Kucherov. Besides one of the best goalkeepers of the league, Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning has already started the new season against the Pittsburg Penguins last night and lost the game 6-2. Which might not be a good sign for their title ambitions.

Other Favorites To Win The Cup

The Vegas Golden Knights are also mentioned in the top favorites to win the cup this season. Their odds to do so are +650.00 on Intertops. The team reached the Stanley Cup semi-finals last season but lost there against Montreal 4-2. Now the second latest franchise which joined the league four years ago can try again to win their first title. The Knights have William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, and other young talents in their squad. But might struggle again in the goal. They’ve also played their first game of the season against the newbies, the Seattle Kraken, and won it 4-3.

Online gambling sites in the US offer the odds of +1600.00 for the victory of the New York Islanders. They also reached the semi-final last season and fought a very tight tie with Tampa Bay there. The four-time Stanley Cup-winning club got their last win almost 40 years ago, in the 1982-83 season. So fans have been hoping for another title for a long time now. They have been one of the most consistent teams in the league. They might reach the final this time under the leadership of head coach Barry Trotz. Interestingly last year’s finalists, the Montreal Canadiens have much worse chances of winning according to the bookmakers with the odds of +2500.00. But it makes sense as the club lost several players to other teams and might struggle a lot this season.

You can also visit Intertops for the best odds for all these sports and more