A pair of teams that each played a day ago, the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks clash at the United Center in a divisional showdown. This one gets started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 18 and it’ll air live on NBC Sports Network.
St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks Odds
St. Louis is 38-33 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 71 regular season contests, 42 of its games have gone under the total, while 27 have gone over and just one has pushed. The Blue Notes are 17-18 SU as a road team in 2017-18.
St. Louis has converted on just 15.2 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that places them in the bottom- overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it has successfully killed off 80.8 percent of its penalties.
St. Louis, as a collective unit, has been sent to the penalty box just 3.4 times per game during the 2017-18 season, and 2.2 per game over its past five contests. The teams had to kill penalties just 8.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .906 save percentage and 24.9 saves per game, Jake Allen (22-27-2) has been the best option in goal for St. Louis this year. Allen played last night, however, so St. Louis could choose to rest him and instead go with Carter Hutton (17-13-3 record, .934 save percentage, 2.02 goals against average).
The visiting Blues have relied on Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko heavily this season. Schenn has 59 points via 25 goals and 34 assists, and has recorded two or more points 13 times. Tarasenko has 27 goals and 31 assists to his creditand has notched at least one point in 38 games.
On the other side of the rink, Chicago is 30-42 straight up (SU) and has lost 15.8 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 72 regular season matches, 37 of its games have gone under the total, while 31 have gone over and just three have pushed. This season, the teams 17-18 SU at home.
Chicago has converted on just 15.7 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s ranked 29th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 18th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.3 percent of all opponent power plays.
Chicago players have been called for penalties only 3.4 times per game in total this season, and 1.6 per game over their last five home outings. The teams had to kill penalties just 6.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Corey Crawford has stopped 27.9 shots per game as the top option in goal for Chicago. Crawford has 16 wins, 12 losses, and two OT losses to his name and has registered a .929 save percentage and 2.27 goals against average this season.
The home team will be led on offense by Patrick Kane (25 goals, 44 assists).
St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Blackhawks, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The total has gone under in three of Chicago’s last five outings.
- The Blues are 17-13 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 28-21 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes.
- Chicago is 1-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while St. Louis is 3-0 in shootouts.
- Chicago skaters have averaged 7.2 takeaways per game (ranked 16th in the league).
- St. Louis is ranked 12th with 7.6 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down, however, as the team has created 5.8 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.6 takeaways over its last five.
- St. Louis could hold the upper hand if it’s a tight one late. The teams 15-12 in one-goal games, while Chicago is only 10-16 in such games.
