Chicago will take on Seattle who is on the second night of a back-to-back set and the Devils will look to avoid going winless in their final game of a four-game homestand.
Moneyline: Chicago Blackhawks (-155) vs Seattle Kraken (+125)
Seattle will head to Chicago to finish a mini two-game road trip and is coming off a 4-1 loss against the St. Louis Blues the night before. Seattle’s overall record is not good and their away record is no better at 10-22-3 this season. Chris Driedger got the start in this one, so Philipp Grubauer, who owns a 15-28-5 record and sub-.890 save percentage this season, will be the likely starter in this one.
The bigger story in this game is that Chicago is riding a five-game losing streak, which includes losses to the Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres. Kevin Lankinen is the team’s goaltender of choice as it stands and is winless in his last four starts and 2-5-3 in his last 10 games played.
The Blackhawks will need to rely on their superstars upfront and the strong play of Dylan Strome who is centering the team’s top line. Strome and Patrick Kane both have 11 points in their last 10 games, while Alex Debrincat has 12 in that same span so the offense is not the team’s issue.
The goals for and against per game are virtually identical for the two teams, but with the goaltending of both teams being brutal for most of the season, the Blackhawks get the benefit of the doubt because they have more established offensive players and are the home team.
Moneyline: New Jersey Devils (-155) vs Montreal Canadiens (+125)
These two teams met at the end of March when the Devils were able to beat the Canadiens 3-2 in a shootout. Unfortunately for the Devils, they will be without their second-leading scorer in Jack Hughes who is out the rest of the season with a knee injury. The Devils are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games and goaltending is one of the bigger concerns the team has.
New Jersey has allowed 23 goals against in their last five games, which isn’t exactly a recipe for success. The Devils’ goalies have had a save percentage over .900 in only one of the team’s last six games as well, meaning they are being handcuffed to have to score their way to victories but rank 17th in the league in goals for per game.
Montreal is sitting 31st in the league in goals allowed per game and goals for per game but does have the more trustworthy and proven goaltender among these two teams in Jake Allen. Forwards like Josh Anderson and Nick Suzuki will need to do more on offense with a combined four points in their last 10 games.
Despite them being the underdog as the away team, the value on them is solid, and their forwards will make good on a great opportunity to take advantage of a poor goaltending situation and get a bounce-back win.
Odds via BetMGM and Yahoo
