NHL Odds 2018: 10 best bets on over/under win projections

Ottawa Senators – Under

Last season: 28-43-11 (67 points)
Over/under: 71.5 points

No team has a lower floor to overcome as far as over/under points than the Ottawa Senators. In about a 15 month span, the Sens have gone from the highest of highs (taking the Pittsburgh Penguins to seven games in the Eastern Conference Final) to the lowest of lows (projected to be the worst team in the league without their own 2019 first-round pick).

Now, the Senators aren’t a lock for the under. They have Erik Karlsson, Matt Duchene, and Mark Stone. That alone should make them remotely competitive. However, it’s telling Senators fans probably want each of them to be traded. All three will be free agents after the 2018-19 season.

Keep an eye on the Senators over the next six weeks or so. If they finally realize how badly they need a rebuild and start shipping guys out, bet the under. But even if the Senators don’t, that doesn’t make them a lock for the over either. Unless the Sens are even less competent than everyone thinks (don’t rule this out), Stone, Karlsson, Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel will be goners by the trade deadline.

Or maybe we know absolutely nothing about hockey and the Senators will somehow be Stanley Cup contenders again. Why not? We had an expansion team in the Stanley Cup Final. Expect the unexpected. Except if the unexpected involves the Senators not being the worst team in the NHL.