The playoff race is flaming hot right now with many teams vying for the last few chairs at the table. The East is in an all out war with eight teams battling for the last two Wild Card spots occupied by the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Philadelphia Flyers. The race getting so hot should create holes that we will look to exploit or at least have some real estate in for hopes of turning a profit.

As we approach the last stretch of the season, we look at bets we can take that are at a great value as of today. Whether it's a team to win Lord Stanley or someone to bring home a trophy, there is a ton of value out on the sportsbooks that people should be taking advantage of before the odds change. Here are our current best value picks that you should take before time runs out. We will look at futures to avoid at all costs.

All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.

Avoid: Penguins to make playoffs (+1500)

The first team to count out of the playoff mix is the Penguins as despite the efforts of Captain Sidney Crosby, who is having possibly the greatest season for a 36-year-old player ever, the team is still struggling to score with a 2.81 goals per game average in March that has lead to a 5-8-3 record and their defensive structure collapsing and allowing 3.94 goals on average during that span. 

They also have the sixth-hardest schedule left this season with matchups against the Rangers, Bruins, Leafs, Lightning and Predators that can all be marked as likely losses.

Avoid: Flyers to make playoffs (-200)

The Flyers are very much in the mix for the playoffs as they currently hold the second Wild Card spot with a two point lead over the ice cold Red Wings and have the eighth-easiest schedule to close out the season. 

Their play has been in decline however with four straight losses and abysmal offensive numbers in March with just a 2.40 goals per game rate, that was worse than the two-win San Jose Sharks. It is never a good idea to bet on a young declining team just before the playoffs that could count their eggs before they hatch and find themselves on the wrong side of the cutoff line.

Avoid: Devils to make playoffs (+950)

New Jersey is a team a lot of experts picked to repeat their success and make the playoffs once again easily but now find themselves at almost ten to one odds to make it into the dance. It’s been a rough year with the team almost never being healthy and making headlines with how bad their darkest days got.

The injury bug has bitten into their season hard and tanked it into the ground as they go through March still with goaltending problems leading to a 3.13 goals against average and just six wins over their last 15 games. It also doesn’t look good when they finish off the season with the tenth-hardest finishing schedule with tough matchups against the red hot Predators, Rangers and two more meetings with the Maple Leafs.