In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild face off at the Xcel Energy Center in a divisional matchup. The match will get going at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 11, and you will be able to catch it live on WGN Channel 9.
Chicago Blackhawks at Minnesota Wild Odds
Chicago is 2-1 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 1.6 units this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the Central Division so far in this young season, is a welcomed improvement over the 33-49 record from last year’s regular season campaign. The Hawks are 2-0 SU on the road in 2018-19.
Chicago has converted on 0.0 percent of its power play opportunities thus far. That’s a noticeable drop-off from last season, when it was ranked 28th in the league by scoring on 16.0 percent of its extra-man chances. Its penalty kill has fallen off drastically since last year, as the team’s gone from successfully defending 78.8 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 20th overall last year) to 63.6 percent this year.
For the team as a whole, Chicago has been called for penalties 3.7 times per game during the 2018-19 season. Last year, that figure was the fifth-best mark in the league at 3.3 penalties per game. The team served an average of 7.5 penalty minutes per game last year and is right around that same amount this season.
Averaging 25.0 saves per game with a .843 save percentage, Cam Ward (2-1-1) has been the top option in goal for Chicago this season.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will both be relied on to produce for the visiting Blackhawks. Toews (six points) has tallied five goals and one assist this season while Kane has four goals and two assists to his name through the early phase of the regular season.
Over on the other bench, Minnesota is 0-2 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through two regular season outings, two of its games have gone under the total, while zero have gone over and none have pushed.
Minnesota has scored on 0.0 percent of its extra-man advantages this year after converting on 20.6 percent (ranked 16th in league) last season. It has killed off a remarkable 83.3 percent of all penalties, compared to 80.9 percent in 2017-18 (when it was ranked 12th in the NHL).
Minnesota players have been sent to the penalty box 4.5 times per game this season, a number that’s risen some from the 3.8 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.6 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to kill penalties for 10.5 minutes per matchup this year.
The winless Devan Dubnyk (38.5 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Minnesota. Dubnyk has zero wins, two losses, and one OT loss to his name and has recorded an outstanding 1.45 goals against average and a .963 save percentage this year.
Chicago Blackhawks at Minnesota Wild Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Blackhawks, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
Chicago went 1-2 in shootouts last year. Minnesota was 3-3 in games decided by shootout.
Minnesota’s skaters managed 5.7 takeaways per game and allowed 6.5 giveaways per contest.
Chicago skaters converted 7.1 takeaways per game while yielding 8.5 giveaways per game in 2017-18
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