Red Wings vs Blackhawks Betting Line
Two of the Original Six face off at the Joe Louis Arena in Chicago Friday night when the Detroit Red Wings come to town to play the Chicago Blackhawks. The money line has these two teams even at -110. The puck line has Chicago at -300, and Detroit at +240. The game is set to start at 8:30 pm ET.
Bet on Red Wings vs Blackhawks
Defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago ranks eighth in goals per game led by Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane with 31 and 27 points respectively. Jonathan Toews has accumulated 29 points off 14 goals and 15 assists to date but veteran sniper and former Red Wing Marian Hossa is still out putting the burden on the team’s young stars to score.
Defensively, Chicago ranks 26th in the 30 team league and gave up 11 goals to Colorado in a home and home series this week with they Avalanche. No surprise, the Hawks lost both games. Goaltenders Marty Turco and Corey Crawford were lit up with Turco surrendering four goals on ten shots in Denver. Chicago actually outshot Colorado in that first game 34-20 but the Avalanche could not be denied down low. In both games, Chicago gave up three third period goals; a sign of a tired team. One bright spot has been the recent play of fourth year right wing Troy Brower who scored twice in the game in Denver. He has nine goals and ten assists for 19 points on the season.
The Red Wings own the league’s third best offense at 3.4 goals per game led by Pavel Datsuk (37 points). Forwards Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen are scoring a high pace as well with 33 and 22 points respectively. Defenseman Niklas Lidstrom has 26 points on seven goals and 19 assists while Daniel Cleary has 14 goals and nine assists for 23 points.
Goaltender Jimmy Howard is consistent posting a 2.60 goals against average and chalking up 17 wins. Detroit was shut out earlier in the week as Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 51 shots. The Wings rebounded to beat St. Louis 5-2 on Wednesday. Detroit is vulnerable defensively but if they stay disciplined in the neutral zone ca clog off most team’s attacks. Chicago has the individual talent to exploit the Red Wings weaknesses. The question is whether they have the depth to last with Detroit.
The answer to that question is no. Detroit wins this by two goals and take the over, set at 5.5 at Sportsbook.com.
