It was not a pretty 2021 season debut for the Chicago Blackhawks on Opening Night. Most people expected the Blackhawks to struggle for a few different reasons. Jonathan Toews will miss an indefinite period of time tending to a medical issue. Kirby Dach is out after suffering a broken wrist in the World Juniors. Frankly, theyโre not projected to be a very good team.
But, letโs be honest, nobody had high hopes for these first two games of the season against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Chicago was outshot 33-23 and beaten 5-1 on the scoreboard by the Bolts on Wednesday night. With the NHLโs new schedule format, weโll see a lot of scenarios in which teams play consecutive games against the same opponent. Game 2 is on Friday night.
It stands to reason that this game wonโt go much different from the first game. The Lightning, who stood around as the Stanley Cup banner was raised to the rafters in a pregame ceremony without fans, needed 10 minutes and 39 seconds to build a 1-0 lead. The lead was three by the end of the first period.
It would help Chicagoโs case immensely to stay out of the penalty box. Three of Tampa Bayโs five goals on Wednesday came on the power play. At 5-on-5, the Lightning had seven high-danger scoring chances to just two for the Blackhawks, but the scoring chances werenโt that imbalanced and the shots on goal were pretty reasonable.
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No NHL team in the modern era has lost by more than 15 goals. Weโve seen a few teams score 10 goals and even saw a 10-0 game a few years ago, but weโve never seen a 15-goal spread between two teams. Weโre not going to see one here either, even if Tampa Bay plays another solid game against the Blackhawks.
This is part of PointsBetโs impressive set of promotions for the start of the NHL season, including NHL Overtime Insurance, which will refund your wager up to $50 if the team you bet on loses in overtime or a shootout.
Weโre not sure if this game will go to overtime or a shootout. Weโre not even sure that the Blackhawks will keep the game close. What we are sure about is that they will keep it close enough to lose by fewer than 15 goals, which means you will Double Your Money at PointsBet Sportsbook on Friday night.
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