Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues Predictions, Picks and Preview – 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Western Conference First Round Game Two – April 15, 2016

Love defensive standoffs? Then this series is for you. The Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues went into overtime in Game 1 of their Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup. The Blues wound up scoring the overtime winner for a 1-0 victory and the series lead. It’s going to get even tighter as both teams know that a mistake could be too costly in tight scoring games in the playoffs.

Will both defenses hold the fort for Game 2? Let’s find out as we take a look at everything you need to know heading into Friday night. Get in one the chase for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Check out our complete previews for the Rangers vs. Penguins and Red Wings vs. Lightning.

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Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues Game 2 Preview

Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis

When: Friday, April 15, 8:00 PM ET

Line: Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis Blues – view all NHL lines

TV Broadcast: NBCSN

Betting on the Chicago Blackhawks

Man. The Chicago Blackhawks must be wondering what they did wrong in Game 1. The defending Stanley Cup Champions outshot St. Louis 35-18, while goalie Corey Crawford stopped 17 straight shots before allowing the overtime winner. The Blackhawks now find themselves in a 1-0 hole heading into Game 2 of their Western Conference Quarterfinal series against St. Louis.

The Blackhawks had a pretty good defensive showing despite missing last year’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner Duncan Keith. Niklas Hjalmarsson was a force to be reckoned with in the Chicago blue line. He had 28:11 of total ice time, finishing with five blocked shots. He turned away a wicked screamer from Vladimir Tarasenko in the first period, but still managed to be effective for the rest of the game.

Luckily, Keith will be back for Chicago for Game 2. He was pretty solid in three games against the Blues in the regular season. He had a goal and an assist as he finished with a plus-three rating. He was excellent last postseason, finishing with 21 points (three goals and 18 assists) to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Also look out for Patrick Kane. Chicago’s leading scorer won’t take his zero-point effort in Game 1 lightly. Expect him to be his usual excellent self with Keith back on ice. He’ll be back to where he left off in April with seven goals and five assists in five games. Kane also had some pretty good results in the regular season series against the Blues, collecting two goals and three assists.

The total has gone under in three of Chicago’s last four games against St. Louis.

Betting on the St. Louis Blues

Brian Elliott was on a short leash, and boy did he turn up for an excellent performance in Game 1. He turned away all 35 shots on goal of the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks. He even stopped Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews on a breakaway near the midway point of the game.

Yes, the Blues were outshot. But that stat doesn’t really reflect the entire flow of the game. St. Louis had their fair share of time in their offensive zone, but were limited to just 15 shots on goal because they preferred to look for the extra pass than send a rocket towards Chicago goalie Corey Crawford. Their offensive efforts finally found its fruition in overtime, when David Backes’ shot deflected off a Chicago defenseman 9:04 into overtime.

What the Blues made up for their lack of shots was a very physical game. They had 41 hits, compared to Chicago’s 24. They were absolutely brutal with Kevin Shattenkirk flattening Artem Anisimov in front of the goal and Robby Fabbri levelling Michal Rozsival in easily the most resounding hit of the game. A tight and physical game should help the Blues get their way against the speedy Blackhawks.

Elliott had an outstanding performance between the pipes. He had that save against Toews and another stop in the dying minutes of regulation, turning away an Artemi Panarin shot on a breakaway. But Elliott is just one part of the St. Louis goaltending situation. The Blues have another solid goalie in the form of Jake Allen, who had six of the Blues’ 10 shutouts in the regular season.

The Blues have to be feeling good about this matchup against Chicago. They have won six of their last eight against the Blackhawks.

Writer’s Prediction

The shots finally start falling for Chicago. The Blackhawks even the series with a 2-1 victory.

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