31-22-2 in December +59.35 units overall, +24.50 units in December
Tonight's clash at the Madhouse will showcase two of the best in the west. Although the standings might not suggest that these are the two strongest teams, this matchup is particularly interesting because it features two teams that are the best at what they do. The Chicago Blackhawks are the league leaders in goal scoring, and the Los Angeles Kings are the League leaders in fewest goals against. Not surprisingly, these are the last two Stanley Cup Champions, and they have developed quite the rivalry.
The last meeting between these two teams saw a quick jump to the first period by the Chicago Blackhawks, followed by an ultra stale remainder of the game which ended with a 3-1 Hawks win. Tonight, both teams will be even more prepared for each other. It will likely have an intense, but cautious playoff feel to it.
When looking at the last three games Chicago has played, it may be difficult at first to back a low scoring affair in any situation involving the team in the near future. The Hawks have been basically covering totals by themselves, let alone with combined scores with opponents. However, in a match where a defensive team operates in a highly focused an motivated manner, the offense is usually humbled.
The Blackhawks are coming off a firing frenzy with their long time rival St. Louis Blues, where they saw themselves become a rare victim of a two goal comeback which resulted in a shootout loss. It was clear that a spirited affair caused emotions to overcome basic fundamentals, and this caused both teams to come in with a mindset to put the pressure on early. Also, Chicago took part in a run and gun game the previous night, where they took advantage of a discombobulated Avalanche team. Therefore, the momentum was carried on, as the Balckhawks are a team that likes to push the pace in a back to back. Tonight, however, Chicago will be a little more careful with their puck management. They are an outstanding defensive team and are quick to fix their mistakes following an outing where they clearly have holes in their game. In their last two games where they have allowed six or more goals, they were able to rebound with games where they only allowed one. When you have a Perennial Selke Candidate like Jonathan Toews as your captain, it is not surprising that defense will be the primary concept addressed following a loss.
The Los Angeles Kings may have came back from the break a little disoriented in their system, but Darryl Sutter appeared to have his team closer to top form in their previous game. The Kings may be the most fortified team on defense that has been seen in over a decade, and have amazingly shown that they can improve even more so on the system. Martin Jones has been nearly flawless in goal, and will be eager to continue his audition campaign against the league's best. Today will bring out the best in his defensive supporting cast, as they look to shut down a team that has scored 17 goals in their last three games.
The bottom line is, no matter how strong an offense is, there is no way of running up the score on an effective and focused trap system. Expect Los Angeles to be motivated to play the best possible game, and that clearly means defense, defense, defense. It was clear in their last meeting that, as soon as the Kings tightened up after a sloppy start, Patrick Kane had very little room to skate and create scoring opportunities. As well, the speed and chemistry of the Blackhawks became next to irrelevant. If this game is played with the mindset that both teams are expected to bring tonight, it will be a semi-intense playoff style game that will come down to dirty goals and hard fought opportunities with most of the playing time being occupied in corner battles and neutral zone dump and chases.
PLAY : UNDER 5.5 -120
Tonight's clash at the Madhouse will showcase two of the best in the west. Although the standings might not suggest that these are the two strongest teams, this matchup is particularly interesting because it features two teams that are the best at what they do. The Chicago Blackhawks are the league leaders in goal scoring, and the Los Angeles Kings are the League leaders in fewest goals against. Not surprisingly, these are the last two Stanley Cup Champions, and they have developed quite the rivalry.
The last meeting between these two teams saw a quick jump to the first period by the Chicago Blackhawks, followed by an ultra stale remainder of the game which ended with a 3-1 Hawks win. Tonight, both teams will be even more prepared for each other. It will likely have an intense, but cautious playoff feel to it.
When looking at the last three games Chicago has played, it may be difficult at first to back a low scoring affair in any situation involving the team in the near future. The Hawks have been basically covering totals by themselves, let alone with combined scores with opponents. However, in a match where a defensive team operates in a highly focused an motivated manner, the offense is usually humbled.
The Blackhawks are coming off a firing frenzy with their long time rival St. Louis Blues, where they saw themselves become a rare victim of a two goal comeback which resulted in a shootout loss. It was clear that a spirited affair caused emotions to overcome basic fundamentals, and this caused both teams to come in with a mindset to put the pressure on early. Also, Chicago took part in a run and gun game the previous night, where they took advantage of a discombobulated Avalanche team. Therefore, the momentum was carried on, as the Balckhawks are a team that likes to push the pace in a back to back. Tonight, however, Chicago will be a little more careful with their puck management. They are an outstanding defensive team and are quick to fix their mistakes following an outing where they clearly have holes in their game. In their last two games where they have allowed six or more goals, they were able to rebound with games where they only allowed one. When you have a Perennial Selke Candidate like Jonathan Toews as your captain, it is not surprising that defense will be the primary concept addressed following a loss.
The Los Angeles Kings may have came back from the break a little disoriented in their system, but Darryl Sutter appeared to have his team closer to top form in their previous game. The Kings may be the most fortified team on defense that has been seen in over a decade, and have amazingly shown that they can improve even more so on the system. Martin Jones has been nearly flawless in goal, and will be eager to continue his audition campaign against the league's best. Today will bring out the best in his defensive supporting cast, as they look to shut down a team that has scored 17 goals in their last three games.
The bottom line is, no matter how strong an offense is, there is no way of running up the score on an effective and focused trap system. Expect Los Angeles to be motivated to play the best possible game, and that clearly means defense, defense, defense. It was clear in their last meeting that, as soon as the Kings tightened up after a sloppy start, Patrick Kane had very little room to skate and create scoring opportunities. As well, the speed and chemistry of the Blackhawks became next to irrelevant. If this game is played with the mindset that both teams are expected to bring tonight, it will be a semi-intense playoff style game that will come down to dirty goals and hard fought opportunities with most of the playing time being occupied in corner battles and neutral zone dump and chases.
PLAY : UNDER 5.5 -120