Pittsburgh has been one the hottest teams in the league as of late. They've got a New Year's Day Showdown with Ovechkin and the Caps. Washington hit a rough patch, losing 8 games in a row, but look for them to become a good bet again. They have now won 4 of their last 5. From the best to the worst, the East does have Pittsburgh and Washington, but they also have the 2 worst teams in the entire league in New Jersey and the Islanders. The Devils have gotten off to such a slow start this year they've already fired their Head Coach. Look for both of these teams to turn things around after the New Year. You'll be getting good value in them when they do.

As for the Western Conference, they're stacked from top to bottom but don't exactly have a team with the sex appeal of Pittsburgh and Washington. Detroit is their prize fighter and has been great at times this year. Chicago and Nashville have been slight disappointments and the Blackhawks have a completely different team from last year, look for them to become a force to be reckoned with come late in the year. In the Nowthwest, it's kinda ho-hum with Vancouver, Colorado, and Minnesota sitting atop the standings. Like I said, decent teams but not exactly anyone to be intimidated by. In the Pacific standings, you're guess is as good as mine on who will win that division. It could be Dallas, who's currently in 1st, or it could easily be Phoenix or San Jose, who are at the bottom of the division. While the parity hasn't really existed in the League this year, the Pacific Division has it coming out of their ears.

None of the bottom 7 teams in the East have an above .500 record against the rest of the conference. When the current top 8 in the East have played the current bottom 7 teams this season, the top teams have won 48 more times than they've lost. The bottom teams in the West have provided more competition against the top. The current top 8 have 19 more wins than losses against the current bottom 7. All in all, everything is cyclical and expect for the bad teams(the Devils and Islanders) to turn things around here in the 2nd half of the season. Like I said, if we can stay a step ahead of everyone there's some good value to be had in these teams at the bottom of their divisions, just got to know when to take em.