The NHL playoff marathon is underway and the prize waiting at the finish line is Lord Stanley’s mug. But before players can hoist up the Cup, they must go through four rounds of Best-of-Seven series while taking multiple hits and blocking shots.

Bettors who want to wager on the hockey playoffs have to worry about the parity in the league. As witnessed last year, when Edmonton squeaked in and ended up making a run to the finals, any team has a legitimate chance at making it all the way.

Here is a list of some teams that may be worth a look.

Atlanta Thrashers (+2500)

At +2500, you might be wondering why anybody would want to lay some down on the Thrashers, but there are some tangible and intangible reasons.

They have players that not only playoff experience, but Stanley Cup final experience as well. Slava Kozlov won a pair of rings with the Detroit Red Wings; Bobby Holik has two with the Devils and Greg deVries, Coach Bob Hartley (both with Colorado) and Jon Sim (Dallas) all have a ring a piece.

They have skill players such as Ilya Kovalchuk, Keith Tkachuk and Marian Hossa and solid goaltending with Kari Lehtonen (.912 save percentage, 2.79 GAA).

They also play in the Southeast and when you take into consideration that the last two Stanley Cup champions (Tampa Bay and Carolina) have come from that division, you might see a method to the madness.

Buffalo Sabres (+300)

The jury’s out on whether teams who win the President’s trophy (best regular season record) can translate their success into the postseason, but the 2006/07 trophy winner Sabres look like they can turn the trick.

They made it all the way to the conference finals, losing to eventual champion Carolina, last year and look poised to make it that far again.

They have seven players who scored 50-points or more and their goalie Ryan Miller was fourth on the regular season wins list.

Everyone will be looking to dethrone the regular season champs, but the Sabres are up to the task.

Anaheim Ducks (+600)

Before the 2006/07 season started the Anaheim Ducks dropped the Mighty from their name, but ironically they’re a mightier team now then they were at any time before.

The team has not one, but two franchise defensemen in Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, two capable goaltenders in Ilya Bryzgalov and Jean-Sebastien Giguere and plenty of players who can light the lamp, including Teemu Selanne and Andy McDonald.

They were the best team in the Pacific Division this year and are looking to make a return trip to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the Oilers last year.

Vancouver Canucks (+900)

The 2007 edition of the Vancouver Canucks won’t be instilling fear into the hearts of their opponents with their offence, but the team does have the makings of a good playoff team.

They have a very good goaltender in Roberto Luongo, who was second in wins and fourth in save percentage, the league’s best penalty kill and OT record in the regular season.

Also they are cyclically supposed to at least make the final in 2007. They came into the league in 1970, made their first Stanley Cup final 12 years later in 1982 and 12 years after that in 1994. If you don’t count the lockout season of 2004/05, this is 12 years after ‘94.