Stanley Cup odds: Teams negatively impacted by the season suspension

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On Thursday, we looked at the teams that could benefit from the NHL season being suspended by getting their injured players back into the lineup should the season resume this summer.

While that could act as a silver lining for some teams, there are a number of others that would find this break detrimental to their Stanley Cup chances.

Top teamsSteve Babineau / National Hockey League / Getty

There are a few avenues the league is exploring for a potential revamped playoff format, each of which presents issues that would negatively impact the top teams.

An expanded playoff format would increase the likelihood that a lower seed catches fire at the right time and goes on a run. Teams with a second chance can be very dangerous and they wouldn't be playing with the same sort of pressure on them that the top seeds - think the Tampa Bay Lightning (6-1) - would be burdened with.

Moving to a best-of-five playoff could create more volatility and leave a lot more room for variance. The better team will usually win out over the course of seven games, but shortening a series by two increases the possibility of a hot goalie stealing a series or a team being snakebit by bad puck luck.

Healthy teams

While the suspended season could benefit certain teams by allowing them to get their injured players back, as we mentioned Thursday, those clubs' already healthy opponents would, as a result, be negatively impacted, especially two teams in particular.

The Washington Capitals (12-1) would be hit the hardest, with their Metropolitan Division foes getting healthy. The Pittsburgh Penguins would welcome back Jake Guentzel, the Philadelphia Flyers could get Nolan Patrick into the lineup and would avoid being without James van Riemsdyk, while the Carolina Hurricanes - the Caps' potential first-round opponent in a standard 16-team playoff - would be gifted a healthy Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Sami Vatanen on the back end.

The Dallas Stars (18-1) would draw the short straw in the Western Conference. In an already loaded Central Division, they'd have to face the St. Louis Blues with Vladimir Tarasenko, and the Colorado Avalanche with a fully healthy roster for the first time since October.

Streaking teamsZak Krill / National Hockey League / Getty

The suspension would offer a blank slate to teams if the season does resume. While the first 70 games would potentially determine playoff seeding, a three-month layoff could be a crippling blow to clubs that were really starting to find their game.

The Flyers (9-1) and Vegas Golden Knights (8-1) are two teams that could find this break detrimental. Philadelphia had won nine of 10 games before the season was suspended and looked like a lock to take over the Metropolitan Division's top spot, peaking at the right time.

Vegas had won 11 of 13 and were perched comfortably atop the Pacific Division, with the teams below them stumbling. The Knights were finally living up to their billing as clear favorites to come out of the division, but a fresh start negates all the momentum they had built up.

Fringe teams

Should the season resume at some point, one of the more prevalent suggestions is for the league to implement a standard 16-team playoff based on current standings, using points percentage as the tiebreaker, given not all teams have played the same amount of games.

If the NHL were to employ this logic, any futures ticket on the Columbus Blue Jackets (100-1) or Winnipeg Jets (50-1) would be a losing one. Despite currently sitting in wild-card spots, both teams would find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture based on points percentage. The Blue Jackets would miss out by .009%, and the Jets by .001%. Bless their souls if that winds up being the case.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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