Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, and the Chicago Blackhawks are set to do battle against Kyle Palmieri, Taylor Hall, and the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in an East-West showdown. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, December 6, and fans at home can witness it live on NBC Sports Chicago Plus.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. New Jersey Devils Odds
Chicago (+120) is entering this one as the underdog to New Jersey (-140), and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Chicago is 11-17 straight up (SU) and has lost 5.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 16 of its matches have gone under the total, while 10 have gone over and just one has pushed. The Hawks are 4-8 SU as the away team in 2019-20.
Chicago has converted on just 14.0 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s ranked 26th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 17th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.7 percent of its penalties..
Sporting a .929 save percentage and 32.1 saves per game, Robin Lehner (6-9-4) has been the best option in goal for Chicago this year. Lehner did just play last night, however, so head coach Jeremy Colliton could choose to rest him and instead turn to Corey Crawford (5-10-2 record, .909 save percentage, 3.04 goals against average).
New Jersey is 9-18 straight up (SU) and has lost 9.8 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 15 of its outings have gone over the total, while 11 have gone under and just one has pushed. It’s 4-11 SU at home this year.
The Devils have converted on just 13.1 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s ranked 29th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 24th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 76.4 percent of all penalties.
MacKenzie Blackwood has denied 25.9 shots per game as the top choice in goal for the Devils. Blackwood has eight wins, 12 losses, and three OT losses and has maintained a poor .896 save percentage and 3.17 goals against average this year.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. New Jersey Devils Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Devils, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- 44.4 percent of New Jersey’s wins have come by two or more goals (the team is 4-12 overall in such games) while 63.6 percent of Chicago’s wins have come by two goals or more (7-10 overall in games decided by at least two goals).
- The Devils are 4-9 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 4-13 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Chicago is 0-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while New Jersey is 1-3 in shootouts.
- For both of these teams, the total has gone over in three of their past five matchups.
- Chicago skaters have averaged 7.4 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 10.7 giveaways per game (ranked 18th).
- New Jersey is ranked 11th this season with 9.1 giveaways per game. That figure has trended upward lately, as the team’s averaged 11.2 giveaways over its last 10 games and 13.8 giveaways over its last five.
- Chicago skaters have accounted for the seventh-most hits in the league (26.1 per game), but that number’s down to just 19.0 hits over their last five away games.
