Welcome back, boys. 17 players from the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers participated in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi’s, and they will get little to no rest as they adjust from the 10-hour time difference before Thursday’s game.
Still, with the NHL trade deadline coming up quickly and the playoffs just over a month away, both teams will be looking to kick off the final quarter of the season with a win. Read on for everything you need to know to bet this original six match up.
Chicago Blackhawks at New York Rangers Betting Preview
[sc:NHL240 ]When: Thursday, February 27, 2014, 7PM EST
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York
Line: TBD
Betting on the Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks sent the most players (10) to the Olympics, tied with the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings, and the list they sent included several of their biggest stars: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, and Duncan Keith. The Canadians amongst them (Toews, Sharp, and Keith) return home with gold medals, but all ten could struggle as they try and find their conditioning on this side of the pond.
Chicago went into the Olympic break in the midst of a 10-game streak that–while not impressive on paper (4-3-3)–came with confident road wins over the league-leading Anaheim Ducks and the stingy Los Angeles Kings. Sitting just three points back of the Ducks for the league lead, the ‘Hawks will bring their league-leading offense to bear against a Rangers defense that ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of goals against.
Betting on the New York Rangers
The Rangers will be making some adjustments of their own following an Olympics that did not go as planned for their contingent. Leading scorer Mats Zuccarello–in the middle of a career season with 43 points–suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left hand while playing for Norway, and will miss 3-4 weeks.
Zuccarello’s injury only adds more turmoil to a Rangers core that is already under a great deal of strain. Trade rumours are swirling around captain Ryan Callahan and defenseman Dan Girardi ahead of the March 5th NHL trade deadline. Both Girardi and Callahan are in the final years of their contracts, and are looking for lucrative, long-term extensions.
How the team, which currently sits 6th in the Eastern Conference with 67 points, plays in the coming days before the deadline may well affect what the Ranger’s brass decide to do with Girardi and Callahan. The team was playing well coming into the Olympics, winning seven of their last ten before the 18-day break.
Cam Talbot, the Ranger’s back up goaltender will start in this one, giving Olympic silver medallist Henrik Lundqvist a break as he recovers from his trip to Russia.
Prediction
The Blackhawks had more star players in Sochi, but the Rangers are distracted for their own reasons. Furthermore, the Blueshirts will miss Lundqvist, who made 37 saves for the 3-2 win in the teams’ only other meeting this season. All told, the sharpest bet on this game may be the over. Both teams can score goals and with fatigue, trade rumours, and focus all potential issues, sloppiness could be the theme of the day.
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