Wednesday Night Hockey: Blackhawks @ Canucks

The Chicago Blackhawks visit Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, where they will take on the Vancouver Canucks.  Puck drop is scheduled for 9:00 pm central time.

The Blackhawks are 6-3-3 on the season thus far, good enough for 15 points and the top place in the Western Conference Wild Card.  They are playing in an extremely tough Central division, so the path to the playoffs will be an uphill battle for every team involved.  Every point is important for the Blackhawks this year, as they have gotten one in 9 of their 12 games so far. It’s hard to ask for much more than that out of a team.

Vancouver currently sits at third place in the Pacific division with their 14 points.  They have a 7-6-0 record. When they lose, it is in regulation, which is a fact that the Blackhawks will have to capitalize on.

In their last game, the Blackhawks lost a close one to the Oilers on overtime 2-1.  Brent Seabrook opened up the scoring in that game for the Blackhawks.  Zack Kassian them tired the game later that first period.  Then, the game was tired all the way until overtime when Connor McDavid won the game for Edmonton.

The Canucks’ last game was a win over the Minnesota Wild by a score of 5-2.  Elias Pettersson scored twice for Vancouver en route to the victory.  The Blackhawks are favored in this matchup: at -120.

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Patrick Kane has started the season off on a tear for the Blackhawks.  He leads the team in goals (11), assists (7), and in points (18).  Alex DeBrincat is second on the roster in points, with 14.  He has developed instant chemistry with number one centre Jonathan Toews, and the numbers show it, as Toews is tied with Kane in the assist category.

Corey Crawford has been looking like his old Stanley-Cup-Winning self, as he has a 2.44 goals against average and a 91.9% save percentage.

 

Elias Pettersson leads the Vancouver team in goals scored, having found the back of the net seven times this season.  Brock Boeser leads in assists, with 5.  Pettersson is tied with Bo Horvat in total points, with both if them having 10.  Vancouver had shown themselves to be a team that relies on goaltending, as they did in their last game when netminder Jacob Markstrom made 37 saves.  Markstrom has a 3.09 goals against average.

The Blackhawks have been able to come away with a point in 3/4 of their games, and that shouldn’t change tonight.  They have shown themselves to be able to score goals at the opportune time to put games away. With the chemistry between their experiences winning veterans and their up and coming skilled skaters growing, they are gelling into a complete looking team.  The Canucks are a good team, but Chicago looks to have the edge in this one. Bet on the Chicago Blackhawks at -120.