Face-off: 1930 ET, 31/01/2022
Venue: United Center
Chicago and Vancouver have both probably been playing better than their bare form suggests of late and a close encounter could be on the cards.
They have already won one head-to-head clash each this term and it was just 1-0 to the Blackhawks in the last meeting in November.
For the first of tonight’s Chicago Blackhawks vs Vancouver Canucks predictions, we reckon 4.0 for overtime to be needed is a value bet.
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Chicago Blackhawks Odds
Chicago’s resurgence has stalled since a four-match winning run earlier this month, but performances have still been respectable.
Although claiming only one victory over Detroit in their last six matches, the Blackhawks have been competitive against some good teams.
They took Minnesota to overtime and pushed Colorado all the way on Friday, trailing just 5-4 when conceding an empty-net goal in the closing seconds.
Patrick Kane had two goals and an assist in another promising display, while Brandon Hagel and Erik Gustafsson each had a goal and an assist.
Chicago are 15-12-5 since Derek King replaced Jeremy Colliton as head coach and he was pleased with the spirit shown.
“I think a lot of these good teams, we’ve played them pretty good, most of them,” King said.
“We didn’t get the start we’ve talked about over the course of however many months I’ve been here and you can’t do that against a good team.
“But I do like the way we competed and stayed hungry and stayed in it. Made it exciting.”
Both of these sides have struggled to score early on this term, so 1.87 for under two goals in the first period stands out from the NHL odds.
Vancouver Canucks Odds
Vancouver are coming off a 1-0 overtime loss at Calgary which meant they have picked up at least one point from six of their last seven outings.
The Canucks had previously beaten Washington, Nashville and Winnipeg on the road and were only edged out after regulation play at Florida and Edmonton.
Against the Flames, one major plus was the return of Thatcher Demko from Covid protocols and he made 31 saves.
“‘Demmer’ made some saves when we needed him to,” said teammate Tyler Motte said. “Those are games we’ve got to find a way to win.
“We’ve got to find a way to get a greasy goal, especially him coming back and standing in the way he did. We’ve got to find a way to win that one.”
Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau was concerned about his side’s lack of energy during a lethargic effort, but Calgary played a big part in that being a cagey contest.
Season stats which catch the eye in this game are that the Canucks are 39-38 in the second period and 40-40 in the final stanza.
It is 2.9 and 3.1 respectively for each of those sections to be drawn here and both bets are worth adding to our NHL predictions.
Additional stats
Last result:
CHICAGO 4-6 Colorado
Calgary 1-0 VANCOUVER (OT)
Head-to-head: Chicago 1-4 Vancouver, Vancouver 0-1 Chicago
