Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, and the Nashville Predators will face off against Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center for a Central Division showdown. The first puck drops at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 9, and it’ll be broadcasted live on NBC Sports Network.
Nashville Predators at Chicago Blackhawks Odds
Playing the role of favorites will be the Predators (-135), whereas the Blackhawks are dogs showing moneyline odds of +115, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Producing -1.6 units for moneyline gamblers, Chicago is 19-25 straight up (SU) overall this year. That early-season winning percentage hasn’t moved much from the 36-46 record the team posted during last year’s regular season campaign. Out of the team’s 44 regular season outings, 23 of them have gone under the total, while 20 have gone over and just one has pushed. Thus far, the team’s 10-13 SU at home.
The Blackhawks have converted on just 15.0 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s ranked 30th overall in the NHL. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked ninth overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 82.0 percent of all penalties.
Averaging 32.3 saves per game with a .922 save percentage, Robin Lehner (12-13-5) has been the principal goalkeeper for the Hawks this year. If Chicago decides to give him the evening off, however, the team might go with Corey Crawford (7-15-15 record, .906 save percentage, 3.09 goals against average).
Nashville has lost 13.9 units for moneyline bettors this year and is currently 19-23 straight up (SU). A total of 27 of its games have gone over the total, while 15 have gone under the total and none have pushed. As the visiting team, the Predators are 9-11 SU so far.
The Predators have converted on just 17.3 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s ranked 23rd in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 30th overall and it’s successfully killed off 74.1 percent of all penalties.
Pekka Rinne (23.6 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Nashville. Rinne owns a 14-12-3 record, and has registered a .894 save percentage and 3.06 goals against average this year.
Nashville Predators vs. Chicago Blackhawks Betting Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Predators, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
The Blackhawks are 2-4 in games decided by shootout. The Predators are 1-3 in shootouts.
The over has hit in four of Nashville’s last five games.
The Predators have averaged the league’s fourth-most shots on goal (34.0) while Chicago has attempted just the 20th-most (30.8).
Six of Nashville’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 2-4 in those games.
The Hawks this season have recorded the seventh-most hits per game in the NHL (24.1), but that number has jumped up to 31.0 over their last five games as the home team.
