The Nashville Predators will be looking for their seventh straight victory over the Chicago Blackhawks when these two teams meet on Wednesday. Nashville beat the Blackhawks at home on Monday, 5-2, but now these teams move to Chicago on Wednesday.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this Central Division battle at the United Center. Nashville is the favorite at -120. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts the odds for Chicago at +100 as the underdog.
Nashville has a number of injuries, including leading scorer Filip Forsberg, who is out until later this month. Also out are forwards Mathieu Olivier, Brad Richardson, and Eeli Tolvanen and defensemen Luca Sbisa, Mark Borowiecki, Alexandre Carrier, and Dante Fabbro. Chicago has a number of injuries as well. Defensemen Adam Boqvist and Wyatt Kalynuk are listed as questionable. Forwards Alex Nylander, Andrew Shaw, Zach Smith, and Jonathan Toews are out.
Predators Roll Past Blackhawks
Tanner Jeannot and Luke Kunin each recorded a goal and an assist as the Nashville Predators defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-2. Juuse Saros was impressive in net, stopping 30 of 32 shots.
Nashville is 25th in goals per game at 2.57 and 25th in shooting percentage at 8.7%. The Predators are 22nd on the power play at 18.3%. With Forsberg out, Roman Josi is the leading scorer with 28 points. He leads the team with 22 assists. Calle Jamkrok leads in goals with 12.
The Predators are 16th in goals allowed per game at 2.81. They are 29th in penalty killing at 75.0%. It will continue to be Saaros in the net. He is 16-9-0 with a 2.22 GAA and a .928 save percentage. Saros has allowed just two goals in four of his last five starts.
Blackhawks Continue to Struggle Against Predators
David Kampf and Alex DeBrincat each scored a goal for the Blackhawks, but it was not nearly enough in the loss to Nashville. Kevin Lankinen started for Chicago but was pulled after allowing five goals on just 22 shots.
Chicago is 18th in goals per game at 2.76 and is 16th in shooting percentage at 9.4%. The Blackhawks are seventh on the power play at 23.6%. Chicago is led in scoring by Patrick Kane who has 57 points. The goal by DeBrincat now gives him a team-leading 23 overall. He is second in scoring with 44 points.
Chicago is 20th in goals per game at 3.09 and is 27th in penalty killing at 75.8%. I would not be surprised to see Malcolm Subban in this game. He stopped all eight shots he faced after relieving Lankinen on Monday and is 5-5-1 with a 2.78 GAA and a .913 save percentage.
Trends:
Nashville:
- 12-4 in the last 16 games.
- 5-2 in their last seven games on the road.
Chicago:
- 1-4 in their last five games.
- 3-7 in their last 10 games against teams with a winning record.
The Winner Prediction
The Predators have dominated the Blackhawks of late and the fact that they are playing exceptional hockey of late does not help Chicago. The Predators are getting solid goaltending and they are getting enough production to win games, despite missing their top player. The Blackhawks are struggling in net, and that gives Nashville the clear advantage.
Pick: Take Nashville at -120.
The Total:
After what we saw on Monday, 5.5 seems a bit low. However, these teams had gone under 5.5 in six straight games prior to Monday’s contest, and with a number of key offensive players out for this game, I think that under is the smart pick. Nashville has gone under in four of their last six on the road while Chicago has gone under in five of their last six at home.
Pick: Go under 5.5 goals at -110.