Saturday March 9th Free NHL O/U Pick: Blackhawks at Stars
Does Chicago Get in Another High Scoring Affair?
One of the best bets in all of sports so far in the 2019 calendar year has been the Blackhawks ‘over.’ In fact if you would have bet on the Blackhawks over starting on February 1st and rolled over the winnings each time your winnings would sit at $847,680.72. That’s because totals have gone over in 16 straight games (1 push). Chicago is in action for the March 9th NHL free pick and is their another high scoring game coming vs. the Stars?
Blackhawks Leaking on Defense
The major reason Chicago has been in so many high scoring affairs lately is because their defense is statistically the worst in the league in goals against and allows the 2nd most SOG. Granted the Blackhawks have been trying to get by without starter Corey Crawford most of the season, but their #1 is back and the results haven’t gotten any better. Between the platoon of Crawford and Cam Ward Chicago has allowed 38 total goals their last 8 games. Crawford has allowed 13 total goals in his three starts since returning from the injury list.
Of course another factor in Chicago totals going on the high side is their superb offense. In fact they’ve managed to squeak out 4 wins in their last 8 despite allowing nearly 5 goals per game. Patrick Kane is bearing down on 100 points for the season and other players like Alex Debrincat and Dylan Strome are having career scoring years. The Hawks may have their work cut out for them in the March 9th NHL free pick however as the Dallas defense has been playing out of their skates lately.
Can the Dallas Defense Shut Down Chicago?
The Stars come in riding high, winners of four straight contests. Dallas is in the #1 spot in the wild card but teams like Arizona and Coyote are still within striking distance. Therefore the Stars are going to be amped up, and their defense is playing the best it has all season allowing just 1 goal in the last three games including back-to-back shutouts. Ben Bishop has been in net for each of the last three solid defensive showings but interestingly it’s Anton Khubodin who gets the nod in the March 9th NHL free pick. He’s been solid between the pipes however allowing 8 goals in the last three starts.
The Dallas defense would point towards an ‘under’ in this one but their offense has scored 4 goals in 4 of the last 6. These two teams have split so far this season with Chicago getting a 5-2 win in Dallas in December and the Stars returning the favor at the United Center 4-3 two weeks ago. Oddsmakers have to jack up the total to 7 in this one, but that’s still a ton of goals.
March 9th NHL Free Pick Betting
‘Over’ has been a solid trend to say the least for Chicago since February 1st but that streak shows signs of coming to an end Saturday night. The Blackhawks offense has been held to 3 goals or less in 4 of the last 6 and the Stars defense has allowed just 1 goal the last three. The Stars offense either blows up or they don’t – scoring 1 goal or less in 3 of the last 7 while netting 16 total in the other four.
NHL Free Pick: Chicago / Dallas *Under* 7
