2014 Stanley Cup Final: Conn Smythe betting odds, Henrik Lundqvist the favorite?
The Stanley Cup Final gets underway on Wednesday from Los Angeles as the Kings take on the New York Rangers after getting past the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens in the conference finals and both teams feature a number of candidates to be named the Conn Smythe as the MVP of the postseason
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The Kings are hte favorites to win their second Stanley Cup in three years, but the favorite to take home the individual honor goes Henrik Lundqvist who has been nothing short of spectacular in net for the Rangers who are in search of their first Cup since 1994.
Here are the list of favorites to win the Conn Smythe according to Bovada.
Henrik Lundqvist (NYR) — 5-2
Anze Kopitar (LAK) — 4-1
Drew Doughty (LAK) — 4-1
Jonathan Quick (LAK) — 11-2
Martin St. Louis (NYR) — 7-1
Marian Gaborik (LAK) — 7-1
Jeff Carter (LAK) — 8-1
Derek Stepan (NYR) — 30-1
Justin Williams (LAK) — 30-1
Brad Richards (NYR) — 30-1
Ryan McDonagh (NYR) — 30-1
Rick Nash (NYR) — 50-1
Mike Richards (LAK) — 50-1
Dustin Brown (LAK) — 50-1
Tyler Toffoli (LAK) — 50-1
You really can make a case for any of the top seven players on this list to walk away with the trophy, but if the Rangers win the Cup it would be a stunner if Lundqvist isn’t named the Conn Smythe winner.
“The King” has won seven of his past nine starts and leads all goalies with a .928 save percentage in the postseason and is second in the league with a 2.03 goals against average. Unless this turns into a high-scoring affair like the Western Conference Finals, Lundwvist will have the hardware.
If the Kings are victorious, you can make a case for Kopitar who leads all players in points with 24, two more than Carter who was a nightmare for the Blackhawks in the conference finals and capable of posting double-digit points in this series, Doughty who has 16 points this postseason to put him in the company of Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Pronger and Duncan Keith for postseason dominance and Gaborik who has scored more goals than anyone with 12.
Could the former Ranger come back to haunt his old team?
And you can’t discount Quick who won the award when the Kings won the Cup in 2012. He was at times brilliant against the Blackhawks and at times very spotty, so depending on which Quick shows up this series could give the Kings five legitimate options to win the award, provided they win the Cup.