Longtime NHL Central Division rivals are set to meet up on Wednesday night as the Chicago Blackhawks will visit the St. Louis Blues. While neither team has been among the best in the league this season, this is still going to be a very important game.
It has been another long season for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2023-24, but that was to be expected. The Blackhawks come into this game with just 51 points on the year, and they have really been struggling down the stretch.
St. Louis comes into this game with 87 points on the year, and they are currently sitting in fifth place in the Central Division. It might take a perfect end of the year for the Blues to get into the playoffs, but at least they still have a chance.
The St. Louis Blues are clear moneyline favorites in this game at -265 and the over/under line is set at 6.0 goals.
Bedard Leading the Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks might not be a great team this year, but they look like they could be on the path to some great success moving forward. Chicago has been playing a ton of young talent this season, and it’s Connor Bedard that is leading the way.
Bedard is going to win the Rookie of the Year Award this season as he has racked up 59 total points in just 59 games played. Chicago is scoring less than three goals per game this season, but Bedard is always a threat to score.
The Blackhawks are also going to need to find a way to get some stops on the defensive end of the ice if they are going to start winning games.
St. Louis Getting Stops
The St. Louis Blues have been an extremely difficult team to figure out this season, as they should actually be better than what they are playing. St. Louis is holding opponents to just 3.06 goals against on average, and that’s good enough to win most game.
Scoring goals has been a challenge for the Blues this season as they are averaging just 2.85 goals per game. The Blues have traded away some talent in recent years, and it appears that this team just doesn’t have as many weapons.
Jordan Kyrou is leading this team with 27 goals but he just can’t seem to get enough help in most games.
Blues Blowout Blackhawks
It’s nearly impossible to predict what is going to happen when a pair of NHL rivals take the ice against each other, but that’s not the case in this one. St. Louis desperately needs to pick up a win in this game and Chicago is already looking ahead to the offseason.
Connor Bedard has been the lone bright spot for the Blackhawks this season, but he isn’t going to be able to take over this game. St. Louis just has too many weapons on offense, and they are going to have a dominant performance in this game.
Bet on the St. Louis Blues at -1.5 on the puck line as they are going to take care of business on their home ice against the Chicago Blackhawks.
