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Back in early April, Erik Cole picked Phoenix to win the Stanley Cup

Mike Smith

GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 27: Mike Smith #41 of the Phoenix Coyotes makes his way to the ice for warm-ups prior to facing the Nashville Predators in Game One of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Jobing.com Arena on April 27, 2012 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Phoenix Coyotes are just one win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals. Although secured the third seed in the regular season, that’s a pretty big surprise. The online sports book Bovada has probably been caught off guard.

Before the playoffs began, they gave the Coyotes 40/1 odds to win the Stanley Cup, which put them in a tie for last place with the Ottawa Senators. Perhaps they should have consulted with Montreal Canadiens forward Erik Cole, who predicted that the Coyotes would win the Stanley Cup back in early April.

That being said, obviously they haven’t won anything yet. The Los Angeles Kings are also looking pretty good right now and the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators aren’t out. That’s not even getting into the Eastern Conference, which is starting to look murkier, but still features four interesting squads.

Still, the Phoenix Coyotes don’t usually get a lot of respect - or attention for that matter. Guys like Shane Doan have dedicated themselves to a team where their struggle to find an owner is the source of intrigue and the actual on-ice product is often treated as an afterthought outside of Glendale.

Winning is forcing people to pay attention to them and, who knows, maybe Cole’s words will prove to be prophetic.