Blues vs. Blackhawks Odds
| Blues Odds | -195 |
| Blackhawks Odds | +170 |
| Over/Under | 6 |
| Time | 3 p.m. ET |
| TV | NHL Network |
| Odds via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
Scorching hot St. Louis will head to Chicago in the midst of a 5-0-1 run of play to take on the Central Division rival Blackhawks. Chicago put together a massive offensive performance Friday which saw Patrick Kane and Brandon Hagel produce hat tricks in an 8-5 win over the Devils.
St. Louis has managed 4.5 goals per game over the six-game heater. Can Chicago keep the Blues' lethal attack in check?
Blues' Win Streak Has Come Over Weak Competition
St. Louis' greatest asset this season continues to be a wildly dangerous top nine upfront, which features a number of high-end offensive talents skating through career seasons.
Its recent schedule has certainly featured a number of opponents unlikely to expose their biggest concern, which is a softer backend featuring some less-than-dominant depth pieces. This doesn't, however, really set up as a spot for that to change, as Chicago features a limited attack itself, even if Jon Gillies and the Devils hid that flaw for a game on Friday.
Over the 5-0-1 run, the Blues have controlled play at the league's highest rate, with a 62.45 % expected goals mark and with the team holding a far above-average unit of offensive playmakers.
This has been boosted by five of the six contests coming against below-average competition, including a 5-1 win over this very Chicago team. I think we should see the Blues again able to carry more of the play here.
It's unclear whether or not we will see Ville Husso or Jordan Binnington here, and considering my preferred play, the better of the two in Husso would be preferred.
But with that said, Binnington did bounce back with a strong performance against Philly, and his struggles were largely compounded as two of his worst recent games also came in shocking team efforts against Calgary and Toronto, two team's who will surely make a team pay for suspect defensive play.
Blackhawks' Regression Was Deserved
Chicago managed a rare win in the midst of a 4-8-3 run of play, but the Devils could have fared much better, as Chicago was skating in a favorable spot against a bad team with a worse goalie.
For a number of reasons Chicago was due for regression record wise under Derek King, who did cause a notable upswing for the Hawks at the start of his tenure. I do not see much reason why this Chicago group can produce better than breakeven play down the stretch of this now lost season.
The Blackhawks hold just a 43.98 expected goals rate over their last six contests, and the offense has looked one-dimensional a lot of the time, with just the two real game-breakers in Patrick Kane and Alex Debrincat, as well as Brandon Hagel, trying to pull a lot of weight for the rest of the offensive unit.
Marc-Andre Fleury should get the start here for Chicago, and he has produced a -9.1 goals saved above expected mark and .912 save % so far this season.
Blues vs. Blackhawks Pick
This appears to be a good spot to keep it simple and back a much better St. Louis team in the midst of a strong run of play to produce another solid offensive output and find a way past its divisional rival with ease.
At -110, I feel we have more than enough value to make a play on the Blues to win in regulation, and I would back them down to -125, especially should prices around those marks exist after a Ville Husso confirmation in goal. You could certainly play the puck-line if you wanted to play for a higher price at +145. I'm sure the eventual value would run very close compared to the three-way line.
Pick: Blues Regulation Win -110 | Play to -125
