The Chicago Blackhawks (13-11-6) face the St. Louis Blues (11-14-7) Friday. Puck drop from Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, is set for 8 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NHL odds around the Blackhawks vs. Blues odds and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
Season series: Blackhawks lead 1-0 after an 8-3 laugher as +203 road dogs Oct. 15.
The Blackhawks shut out the New York Rangers 3-0 as +129 home dogs Wednesday. That snapped a string of 7 losses in 9 games (2-5-2). C Connor Bedard scored his 19th goal of the season and LW Tyler Bertuzzi scored his 16th. This team is decent, ranking 10th on the power play at 22.2% and sixth at 83.8% on the penalty kill. The addition of G Spencer Knight has shored up the back end as well as the Blackhawks are16th with 2.97 goals allowed per game.
The Blues are a mess. They were embarrassed 7-2 at the Nashville Predators on Thursday night as +113 dogs. C Robert Thomas scored his seventh goal of the season and third in 2 games. They’re without 5 forwards, including perennial leading goal-scorer RW Jordan Kyrou (knee). They’ve now lost 2 straight and are just 5-7-4 on home ice.
Blackhawks at Blues odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Moneyline (ML): Blackhawks -105 (bet $105 to win $100) | Blues -115 (bet $115 to win $100)Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Blackhawks +1.5 (-250) | Blues -1.5 (+200)Over/Under (O/U): 6 (O: -110 | U: -110)Blackhawks at Blues projected goalies
Spencer Knight (10-6-5, 2.50 GAA, .917 SV%, 2 SO) vs. Joel Hofer (4-6-2, 3.17 GAA, .890 SV%, 2 SO)
Knight shut out the Rangers on Wednesday, stopping all 21 shots fired his way. He was pummeled for 6 goals on 32 shots against the LA Kings in the previous outing, though. He beat the Blues 3-2 on Feb. 6 last season, stopping 20 of 22 shots.
Hofer has been the better of the goalie tandem of late with a 2.26 GAA and .929 SV% in 2 starts (4 games) this month. He was called upon for the third period Thursday and stopped 6 of 7 fired his way. He was ransacked for 7 goals on 22 shots in his second start of the season against the ‘Hawks Oct. 15.
Blackhawks at Blues picks and predictionsPrediction
Blackhawks 5, Blues 2
The Blues have scored 2 goals or fewer in 12 of 14 games. They’re 30th in the league at 2.53 goals per game and 31st with 3.56 goals allowed per game. So, it’s a little surprising to see them favored here because the only shot they have is if Hofer stands on his head.
Take the BLACKHAWKS (-105).
The Blackhawks are at a great value on the ML so PASS.
The Blues are what makes this one tricky because of their aforementioned anemic offense. They’re 5-5 O/U in their last 10, but the Blackhawks are 7-3.
It’ll be close, but take OVER 6 (-105).
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