The Sharks are a lock for the Western Conference finals and are now considered top dog in the futures market.
It would take a small miracle for the San Jose Sharks not to advance to the Western Conference finals as they hold what appears to be an insurmountable lead over Detroit in their second round series. When San Jose won game 3 they put Detroit against the wall and now the Sharks will have the Red Wings on the brink when game 4 is played.
Here are the updated odds as Boston and Chicago both won their game 3s on Wednesday night (Sportsbook.com):
San Jose Sharks +200 (lead Detroit 3-0)
Pittsburgh Penguins +225 (lead Montreal 2-1)
Boston Bruins +300 (lead Philly 3-0)
Chicago Blackhawks +300 (lead Vancouver 2-1)
Vancouver Canucks +600
Montreal Canadiens +2500
Detroit Red Wings +5000
Philadelphia Flyers +6000
Philadelphia and Detroit are both write offs at this point while the price on San Jose promises to shorten as they are essentially through to the conference finals and will have home ice advantage regardless of opponent for the remainder of the post-season. The Sharks are now 7-2 in the post-season and it is difficult to envision them not making the Stanley Cup finals where they could be favorites – unless they draw Sidney Crosby’s Penguins.