Overview
The Montreal Canadians visit the United Center in Chicago Friday where they take on the Blackhawks. Being in different conferences these are two teams that don’t play each other often but the Blackhawks have won 3 of the last 4 meetings overall and they have also won the last 4 straight meetings at home in Chicago.
Head to Head Trends
Home team is 10-1 in the last 11 meetings.
Canadians are 0-4 in the last 4 meetings in Chicago.
Chicago Blackhawks (-186)
The Chicago Blackhawks are 3rd in the Central Division with 33 points 3 points back of the 1st place Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks didn’t get off to the best start winning just 7 of their first 14 games which is still .500 hockey and better then a lot of teams but for the Blackhawks who are supposed to be one of the best teams in the league it’s not exactly a good start. The Blackhawks have started playing a lot better hockey of late winning 9 of their last 11 games and right now I actually have them rated as the number one team in the NHL. The Blackhawks are one of the higher scoring teams in the league averaging 3.1 goals per game and they also have a great defense to go along with that offense allowing just 2.0 per game which is the number one defense in the league.
Chicago Blackhawks Trends
Blackhawks are 70-27 in their last 97 home games.
Blackhawks are 4-0 in their last 4 overall.
Montreal Canadians (+167)
The Montreal Canadians are 2nd in the Atlantic Division with 36 points 3 points behind the 1st place Tampa Bay Lightning. The Canadians got off to a super hot start winning 7 of their first 8 games but a lot of that success was due to having the luck factor in their favor and usually luck will even out over a full season so expect Montreal to struggle a bit and they’re actually starting to struggle now as they have lost 4 of their last 5 games. The Canadians have a below average offense scoring just 2.6 goals per game but they do have a solid defense allowing 2.5 goals per game.
Montreal Canadians Trends
Canadians are 1-4 in their last 5 overall.
Canadians are 1-4 in their last 5 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Conclusion
I like the Chicago Blackhawks over the Canadians in this one. I have the Blackhawks rated as the top team in the league right now while the Canadians are just 13th and I also have the Blackhawks as a -240 favorite so there’s some really good value on the Hawks in this one.
Free Pick: Chicago Blackhawks -240
