Capitals 3-1 Favorites to Repeat as NHL Metropolitan Champs Ahead of Opening Night

• Capitals have won Metro last four seasons
• Washington topped division with 48 wins in 2018-19
• Canes move up odds list after deep playoff run last season

The Washington Capitals have dominated the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division over the last four seasons.

Alex Ovechkin and the Caps will look to lock up a fifth-straight division crown when the NHL season begins on Wednesday.

Oddsmakers released the latest NHL divisional odds for the 2019-20 season and list the Capitals as the +300 favorites to come out of the Metro Division.

2019-20 Metropolitan Division Odds

*Odds taken October 1, 2019

The Capitals finished with a 48-26-8 record last season and won the division crown with 104 points — just one more than the New York Islanders.

When the divisional odds opened in mid-July, the Capitals were listed as the +400 favorites. That line shortened to +350 by late August before moving to +300 a day before puck drop.

Alex Ovechkin, who sat out yesterday’s practice for lower body maintenance, is back on the ice this morning at MedStar, skating with the non-game group. #Caps pic.twitter.com/2QDu2h2AR4

— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) September 29, 2019

Two years removed from winning the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup, the core of Washington’s team is unchanged heading into the new season. Ovechkin is coming off an eighth season of scoring 50 or more goals and he’s showed no signs of slowing down, even at 34 years of age.

Ovi netted 51 goals last season to lead the league, but the Caps will need secondary scoring to hold off other Metro teams in the running for a division title in 2019-20.

2018-19 Metropolitan Division Standings

Can Canes Finish at the Top?

Opening at number two on the latest Metro division odds are the Carolina Hurricanes, whose deep playoff run a year ago ended in the Eastern Conference Championship.

Carolina was as short as +400 to win the Metro when the divisional odds first opened, but the line has dropped as the season has approached.

The Canes, who are now listed at +450, finished fourth in the division a year ago, but the club is projected to have another strong season under coach Rod Brind’Amour.

Sebastian Aho scored 30 goals and finished with 83 points to lead the Hurricanes in scoring. Aho averaged just over a point per game and will likely do so in 2019-20 if healthy.

Latest Odds Have Pens, Isles at +500

Two teams right behind the Canes are the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders at +500.

You have to go back to the 2013-14 NHL season to find the last time Sidney Crosby led the Penguins to a division title. Even when the Pens won back-to-back titles in 2015-16 and 2016-17, they were not Metropolitan Division champions.

The Penguins made several changes in the off-season, most notably trading Phil Kessel to the Arizona Coyotes for Alex Galchenyuk. Pittsburgh will miss the goal production Kessel brought, but the Pens have several other players that can pick up the scoring slack.

Jake Guentzel’s 40 goals a year ago made Kessel expendable, but the question is can the left-winger repeat that success going into the 2019 season.

Devils a Sleeper to Watch Closely

The Devils, who had just 32 wins a year ago, opened at +750 and moved to +650 on the divisional odds board this week. 

Is it worth placing a long shot bet on the Devils?

New Jersey has made the playoffs once in the last seven years after losing in the finals in 2011-12. After landing the first overall pick in two of the last three years to select forward Nico Hischier (2017) and Jack Hughes (2019), the Devils are on the right track to being a legitimate Cup contender.

The Metro will be wide-open and while the Caps are the early favorites, look for Crosby and the Pens to emerge as division champions in the end.

Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins (+500)