Not only will Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks get the Pittsburgh Penguins on the second night of a back-to-back, but they also take some strong trends into their home game against the defending Stanley Cup champions on Wednesday night.
The Blackhawks are the -130 favorite against the +120 underdog Penguins with a 5.5-goal total in their NHL betting matchup, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Blackhawks are one of the hottest teams in the NHL with a 9-1 straight-up record over their last 10 games; the OddsShark NHL Database also shows an identical 9-1 record in their last 10 home games and an 8-2 record in their last 10 home games against Eastern Conference teams.
The Penguins, who lost to the lowly Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, are 5-5 in their last 10 games where they played the previous day.
Led by the indefatigable Sidney Crosby, the Penguins are 38-15-8 this season, although a spate of injuries to several defensemen has contributed to them going 5-5 over their last 10 home games. Kris Letang (upper body) is among the defensemen out of the lineup and his absence affects the Penguins, who are 4-6 in their last 10 road games against Western Conference teams.
However, with Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as their top two centers, the Penguins are almost always able to generate offense. Recently-acquired veteran defenseman Ron Hainsey is also getting more comfortable with his new team.
Chicago is 39-18-5 on the year as it tries to chase down the Minnesota Wild for first place in the Central Division. Starting goalie Corey Crawford (illness) will be held out on Wednesday night with backup Scott Darling getting the call. Chicago is 11-5 in Darling’s last 16 starts. One notable absence for the Blackhawks is that of defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson (upper body), who is out until at least next week. Chicago did swing a trade on Tuesday for veteran Johnny Oduya to plug that hole.
The Blackhawks were hot in February, with Kane scoring nine goals in 10 games while captain Jonathan Toews has seven in his last 10. With fresher legs than Pittsburgh, they stand a good chance of having the run of the play.
The total has gone under in five of Pittsburgh’s last six road games on the NHL betting lines. The total has gone under eight of the last 10 games where Pittsburgh was playing the second of back-to-back games. The total has gone over in nine of Chicago’s last 10 games, as well as seven of the Blackhawks’ last nine home games.