Pucks Play
TAMPA BAY VS. CHICAGO
Perhaps more so than any team in the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks live and die with their defense.Their offense has been surprisingly unproductive this season. Statistically, they don’t *look* that bad ranked 14th in the NHL at 2.83 per game, but 14 of those goals came in two 7 goal blowout romps. Subtract those two games, and the Blackhawks would be scoring at a clip of 2.53 goals per game which would have them tied for 22nd in the league. They’d still be ahead of Tampa Bay, who ranks #27 in scoring offense with 2.45 goals per game.
Defensively,the Blackhawks are dominant. hey’re #1 in the NHL in scoring defense with 2.13 goals per game and more significantly perhaps they limit opponents to fewer shots than any team in the league (24.5 per game).The Blackhawks have gone ‘under’ in 9 of 15 at home, and even more amazing is their mark of going ‘under’ in 10 of 12 games this year against sub .500 teams.This suggests that Chicago overwhelms inferior foes not by outscoring them, but by putting the clamp down.
Tampa Bay hasn’t gone ‘over’ in their past seven games (5 UN, 2 push) while Chicago has gone ‘under’ in four straight and six of seven.
Under 5.5
Perhaps more so than any team in the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks live and die with their defense.Their offense has been surprisingly unproductive this season. Statistically, they don’t *look* that bad ranked 14th in the NHL at 2.83 per game, but 14 of those goals came in two 7 goal blowout romps. Subtract those two games, and the Blackhawks would be scoring at a clip of 2.53 goals per game which would have them tied for 22nd in the league. They’d still be ahead of Tampa Bay, who ranks #27 in scoring offense with 2.45 goals per game.
Defensively,the Blackhawks are dominant. hey’re #1 in the NHL in scoring defense with 2.13 goals per game and more significantly perhaps they limit opponents to fewer shots than any team in the league (24.5 per game).The Blackhawks have gone ‘under’ in 9 of 15 at home, and even more amazing is their mark of going ‘under’ in 10 of 12 games this year against sub .500 teams.This suggests that Chicago overwhelms inferior foes not by outscoring them, but by putting the clamp down.
Tampa Bay hasn’t gone ‘over’ in their past seven games (5 UN, 2 push) while Chicago has gone ‘under’ in four straight and six of seven.
Under 5.5
