Kesler averaged under 25 goals a season before his breakout 2010-2011 season. The center is also known as one of the best two-way players in the NHL. A fact confirmed when he received the Frank Selke Award for being the best defensive forward in the NHL during the 2010-2011 season.

Finding a scoring threat who is willing to sacrifice themselves by getting back on defense quickly is a rarity in the NHL. Kesler is never afraid to get into the corner and dig out a puck and he is also one of the better fore checking offensive players in the game.

Kesler began his career in Vancouver in 2003, playing just 28 games as he fought for a roster spot and then in his sophomore season he suited up for all 82 games playing on the checking line for the Canucks.

Kesler didn't begin showing his scoring abilities until the 2007 season, when he broke the 20 goal mark for the first time in his NHL career. Kesler then had the second best season of his career in 2008, scoring 26 goals along with a plus 8. Kesler's best plus/minus stat came in the 2010-2011 season when he scored a career high +24 for the season to earn the Selke Award.

Visit your favorite online sportsbook for prop bets on Ryan Kesler and any number of NHL Award based wagering options.

Oddsmakers with various online sports betting sites will have to be adjusting the odds on each team up to accommodate for this additions. Check around, as betting what team will win the division, the conference and the Stanley Cup can vary from sportsbook to sportsbook. Interestingly, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Bostonb Bruins and the Western Conference Champion Vancouver Canucks are not on this list.

The LA Kings seemed to have made the biggest splash, with the additions of centre Mike Richards and winger Simon Gagner, and now have a dynamic 1-2 punch up the middle along with All-Star Anze Kopitar. The San Jose Sharks added another dynamic puck rushing defenceman in Brent Burns to go along with perennial All-Star D-man Dan Boyle. The Hawks bolstered their lineup with lots of muscle and size, adding Dan Carcillo, D-man Sean O’Donnell and skilled forward Andrew Brunette.

Over in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia Flyers traded away both Richards and winger Jeff Carter, but added much in budding superstar Brayden Schenn in the Richard deal, and added goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, and wingers Maxime Talbot and Jaomir Jagr. Washington added a veteran netminder in Tomas Vokoun and size with gritty forward Joel Ward. Finally, the Buffalo Sabres really added to their roster by adding swift puck moving defenceman Christian Ehrhoff, rugged rearguard Robyn Reghr, and the pugnatious Ville Leino.

An extraordinary pass from Jannik Hansen to Raffi Torres was the decider in the Game 1, with 18.5 seconds to play. On Wednesday night, Vancouver astonished the Boston Bruins 1-0.

Meanwhile, for supposedly biting the finger of Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, Canucks forward Alex Burrows will not be suspended. This incident happened during a squabble between the two in the Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 Wednesday night, at the end of the first period.

During the Canucks' series-opening 1-0 victory in the Stanley Cup Final, Burrows was caught with the gloved index finger of Boston's Patrice Bergeron in his mouth. Bergeon had the bandage around his digit as evidence that his fellow Quebecer had bit him.

However, Mike Murphy, NHL senior vice-president found no irrefutable proof against Burrows that he deliberately bit his opponent's finger and therefore he acquitted Burrows of any further discipline.

Murphy's decision was not questioned by the Bruins, as they took the high road. The incident was fun for some players on both Boston and Vancouver sides.

In a prepared statement from the NHL, Murphy said that he could not find any conclusive evidence that Alex Burrows intentionally bit the finger of Patrice Bergeron, after he reviewed the incident, including clarifications with the on-ice officials.

The Canucks are a -160 favorite and the over/under total is 5.5 in NHL Betting.

The second round took a little longer to complete than San Jose, and their fans, would have liked, as the series ended up going the full seven games after San Jose jumped out to a three games to none lead over Detroit. The Sharks will be making their second consecutive appearance in the Western Conference Finals, and the team hopes this year’s result is better than last year’s where the Sharks were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup winners, the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Vancouver Canucks have been patiently waiting to see who their next round opponent would be after beating the Nashville Predators in six games. This year marks the first time the Canucks have been to the Conference finals since the 1993-94 season, and the fans in Vancouver have high expectations for this year’s team.

Sporting the best offense and third best penalty kill in the regular season, the Canucks are certainly one of the most talented teams in the league, but will be tested by the fast, physical San Jose Sharks. If Vancouver can get better production out of its star players, the Canucks should win this series.

However, if the Sedin twins continue their postseason struggles, there could be more angst in Vancouver this offseason as fans and team management will feel they let a chance to win the Stanley Cup slip through their fingers.

For this matchup, the total at 5.5 and sports handicappers has Boston as a -140 moneyline favorite.

In dominating fashion the Bruins started off the series. Even though the Bruins came out with some fire, the series looked like it would be an evenly matched series. By showing their offensive prowess they put the puck in the net 7 times in the first game. By limiting the Flyers to 3 goals in the game, they also had a decent game defensively. They managed to go up 1-0 in the series with this effort.

As the score was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, the Flyers came out with a better effort in the 2nd game and forced the game to overtime. By scoring a goal to take a 2-0 series lead, the Bruins came through in the clutch.

For the Flyers, the bad news is that they lost their two home games and now they’ll have to win the next couple games in Boston. The advantage of playing at home seems to be much more demonstrated in the playoffs while these teams both were good road teams in the regular season. During this third game, look for the Boston fans to get involved to support their team.

The Bruins will go up 3-0 and be just one win away from securing the series if they can win. As they are actually the lower seeded team in this series this would be a big win.

The over/under total at 5 and NHL Betting has the Bruins as a -115 favorite.

The Canadiens will have the chance to go up 3-1 at their home arena in front of their fans as they are also the home team in this game. To come out ready to play in this game, look for the Canadiens.

As the Canadiens were able to put up a shutout against the Bruins in the series opener, they started out the series in dominating fashion. Winning the game 2-0 they looked dominant over the Bruins.

As the Bruins were held to just 1 goal, the Canadiens continued to dominate the Bruins in the 2nd game of the series. Nobody expected the Canadiens to hold them to a single goal in the first two games as the Bruins are a solid team. By a score of 3-1 to go up 2-0 in the series, Montreal ultimately took home the victory.

With a much more typical offensive performance the Bruins bounced back in game three. They limited the Canadiens to 2 goals as they put 4 goals in the net. In the series this allowed them to pull back within contention. For the Bruins a win in this game would even up the series. After winning 2 games in a row it would also give them a lot of momentum.

The Flyers finished an excellent season in which they narrowly missed landing the top seed in the Eastern Conference. They had just one more overtime loss and one win less than the Washington Capitals. While they while have the home court advantage in this game, this does not necessarily favor them. They are actually a better team playing on the road than they are at home. They had a record of 22-12-7 in Philadelphia this season compared to the 25-11-5 record that they achieved on the road. The Flyers are a -160 moneyline favorite to win the opener in NHL odds.

The Sabres are actually a better team on the road than they are at home as well this season. They had a 22-13-6 record on the road and a record of 21-16-4 at home. This will make them a dangerous team in the playoffs as they very well could sneak away a victory or two from the Flyers in Philadelphia.

Both of these teams are solid, but Philadelphia does have a slightly more potent offense than Buffalo does. Look for Philadelphia to attack early on as the Sabres have somewhat of a “middle of the pack” defense and may be vulnerable to a strong attack. The Flyers are favorites in online sports handicapping to win this match.

This should be a good series as both teams are talented and capable of winning on any given night.

Chicago, the defending Stanley Cup champion, opened the season at 5-1 betting odds to repeat but is now down to 18-1 in NHL Betting.

The Blackhawks are currently in position to grab the final playoff spot and they are seen as a very dangerous team. While they have not been as consistent as they would have hoped to be, they are a very strong team all around.

The Blackhawks are 4th in the league in goals per game, averaging 3.1 goals each contest. They are also a solid defensive team, allowing just 2.7 goals per game to their opponents. The key to the offense of the Blackhawks has been their power play. They are the 2nd best team in the NHL on the power play and they convert 24 percent of the time.

The Blue Jackets have a solid record, but they are very mediocre in every category. Despite winning more games than they have lost, they surrender 3 goals a game while they only score 2.6 goals per game. The Blackhawks should be able to put this team away. The Blackhawks really need to win games like this if they hope to hold onto the final playoff spot.

The Blue Jackets will need a stellar performance or they will fall further down the standings after this game. The game will be held in Columbus on Friday, April 1st at 7 pm Eastern Time.

In hockey betting Odds the Capitals have moved down to 25-1 to win the Stanley Cup this season.

Without star player Alex Ovechkin Washington will look to continue its hot streak. The star play will be given seven to ten days rest to help get healed up for the playoffs, Capitals’ coach Bruce Boudreu said earlier today. The coach thought it would be a good time to get some rest for the star player as Ovechkin has apparently been bothered by nagging injuries for a few months.

Because the Capitals has been playing so well, having won nine of their last ten to find themselves in second place in the Eastern Conference they can afford to rest Ovechkin right now.

As Ovechkin is going to be out of the lineup on Saturday Montreal will be quite happy with this. For first place in the Northeast Division the Canadiens are in a heated battle with the Boston Bruins as well as the likely number three seed that will accompany it.

Even though Boston has two games in hand, right now Montreal is only one point out of the division lead. To get as many points as possible each game, the extra two games Boston has on Montreal will put that much more pressure on the Canadiens. While it is missing its best player, Saturday offers a good chance to beat one of the better teams in the league. In sports picks the Washington Capitals are favorites to win this match.

Currently, Nashville sits only one point out of the eighth and final playoff spot behind Calgary, but does have two games in hand. Nashville was one of the surprise teams early in the season, and even led the Central Division for some time.

However, in the last month or two, the Predators have fallen on hard times and find themselves having to fight for every point they can gain in the standings. This late season matchup with Detroit was viewed a month or so ago as a potential game that could help decide the Central Division race, but now it is just essential to Nashville’s playoff hopes.

Detroit on the other hand continues to roll towards another playoff appearance. While the Red Wings were once comfortably atop the Central Division, the Chicago Blackhawks have closed the gap to just six points thanks in large part to a 7-1-2 record in their last ten games. Detroit has struggled as of late only going 4-4-2 in their last ten, but with two consecutive wins the Red Wings may be back on track.

Saturday’s contest should be a hard hitting, fast skating game, as both teams would love to win and get the two points in the standings.