There are five excellent reasons to take Washington to win the 2010 Stanley Cup.

The 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs are just around the corner but there is still time to get bets in on the favorites at reasonable odds.  It is important to act soon because as the playoffs approach you may lose your opportunity to get a good price on the team you want to select.  The team we've been backing for a couple months now have been the Washington Capitals and here are five reasons why you should be doing the same.

1.  Washington have Alex Ovechkin.

2.  Washington are going to be the top seed overall with home ice advantage in every series they play (they have not clinched yet but hold a 9 point edge on San Jose).

3.  Washington are killer at home as they still only have 8 losses at home on the year and only 4 of those losses have come in regulation.

4.  Washington have a goal differential this year of +80 (the next closest team is Chicago at +52).

5.  Washington still have long odds at +400 with Players Only.

Regarding the last point, the Capitals have 109 points on the year with several games remaining to add more on.  You have to think that if Detroit or Pittsburgh had 109 points at this point in the season that you would be praying for odds of +200 (2/1) to pound on the Pens or Wings.

Don't hesitate to get your money in on the Capitals just because they haven't made a big scene in the playoffs in the past few seasons.  All superstars have their break out year and this could be Ovechkin's turn.

Register with Players Only to bet on NHL hockey futures and take advantage of their deposit bonus to earn free bets that can be used on the Stanley Cup playoffs.