Sports Betting Overview
Anyone who would have made the prediction that the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild would be battling it out to see who is the best team in the league on into the middle of December would have been laughed at by the price per head bookie crowd. There was absolutely nothing going on with either team that would have indicated that such a drastic turnaround was possible. The Wild missed the playoffs by a wide margin last season and the Blackhawks barely made it into the post season. There weren’t any major roster changes to either team that indicated potential success and the coaches are the same as well.
One of the things that happened to the Minnesota Wild is the emergence of goaltender Niklas Backstrom. According to the price per head services statistics, Backstrom has a record of 11-5-2 this season. He has a 2.08 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and has recorded two shutouts. The Blackhawks discovered that Corey Crawford can be their starting goaltender, but Chicago also picked up veteran goalie Ray Emery for insurance. Emery is 6-1-2 in his starts this year and had been the defensive boost that the Blackhawks needed. Now both the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild are the top two teams in the NHL. When these two teams get together, you can imagine that goals will be at a premium.
Chicago Blackhawks
There are two significant differences between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild. The first difference is that the Blackhawks can score goals while the Wild rely more on defense to win games. Chicago is the second-highest scoring team in the league with 99 goals. That is only two goals behind the Philadelphia Flyers. A 5 dimes review of the Blackhawks’ roster shows that the scoring is pretty balanced between the forwards and the defensemen. Chicago is not afraid to bring its defensemen into the offensive play.
The other significant difference between the Blackhawks and the Wild is that the Wild does not allow nearly as many goals per game as the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks have given up 92 goals this season while the Wild have only given up 64 goals. That is a significant difference in philosophy.
Minnesota Wild
The NHL fans in Minnesota love a winner and they appreciate a team that works hard. The Wild falls into both categories. Minnesota grinds out wins and focuses more on efficient defense than flashy offense. With a quality goaltender to back up a solid defense, the Wild are hoping that it has the formula it needs for playoff success.
The Bottom Line
The Wild will grind down the Blackhawks and frustrate the Chicago scorers on a regular basis. This will not be a very high-scoring game, but it will be a fun game to watch if you enjoy hard-hitting hockey and world-class goaltending. But the Wild will find a way to neutralize the Chicago scoring attack which will shut the Blackhawks down completely.
Pick: Minnesota Wild
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.