This Saturday, Soldier Field will play host to the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins for the final installment of this season’s Stadium Series. With Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews (amongst others) fresh of the pagaentry and intensity of winning Olympic gold, this should be a great game for fans and bettors alike.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Chicago Blackhawks
[sc:NHL240 ]When: Saturday, March 1st, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Betting on the Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are sitting comfortably in first in the Metropolitan division with a conference-best 84 points after they couldn’t shake a pesky Montreal Canadiens team and lost 6-5 in a shootout on Thursday.
Sidney Crosby, the favorite to win the Hart Memorial trophy, has played a large part in keeping the Penguins afloat despite the team suffering a rash of injuries. Crosby added a goal and an assist Thursday night to pad his league leading 80 points (29 goals, 51 assists). The Penguins captain has contributed to over 40% of the team’s goals this season.
The Penguins are almost as good on the road as they are at home, so an even bigger, more iconic Chicago venue shouldn’t phase them. They are 17-11-2 overall away from Consol Energy Center and 4-2 in the last six. They should come in firing after a tough loss Thursday, even without star defenseman Kris Letang, who is still out of commission after suffering a stroke in late January.
Betting on the Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks will be playing their first home game since January 26th on Saturday, and the home crowd couldn’t be bigger as the ‘Hawks move to the enormous Soldier Field for this special game.
Before the league went into the Olympic break, the Blackhawks had won two of their last three contests, including consecutive wins against top contenders in the Kings and Ducks. They’ve been doing it without much goals for, as they’ve consistently been held below their 3.4 goals a game average of late, including be held to just one in a 2-1 loss to the Rangers on Thursday. Chicago’s drop in scoring has helped bettors hit the under in four of the last five games.
The game showed some rust for the Blackhawks, particular captain Toews, who committed a rare defensive zone turnover that led to the game’s first goal.
The Blackhawks are 6-4 in their last 10 home games.
Picking a Winner
While it’s tempting to bet the over on a game that features two teams that are in the league’s top 5 in scoring, it’s worth noting that since the NHL introduced its outdoor games with the Winter Classic in 2008, an average of 5.09 goals per game have been scored in the 11 games played. With that in mind, you can feel just as confident by betting on the under.
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