NHL Blackhawks vs Oilers
Chicago Blackhawks @ Edmonton Oilers 9:35 PM ET
We’re now a third of the way through the regular season schedule and the race for one of the 16 playoff spots is heating up. This Tuesday night showcases an interesting sports betting showdown when the Chicago Blackhawks (15-6-7) head to Alberta to take on the Edmonton Oilers (14-12-2). Chicago has won four in a row for NHL bettors and is 5-0-1 so far in the month of December. Meanwhile, the Oilers have improved after a bad start and have won four of their last five games for Oilers bettors.
Chicago has been fortunate enough to have one of the best 1-2 punches in the NHL this season in C Patrick Sharp and RW Patrick Kane. Blackhawks bettors have seen the two combine for 30 goals and 31 assists, a large reason why Chicago is third in the NHL in goals scored per game with a 3.39 GFA. In their last game against Columbus, a 3-1 NHL betting win, Kane assisted Sharp on the game tying goal with one second left in the second period to trigger the Chicago comeback.
The goaltending tandem of Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet has shown rapid improvement from their start of the year and has allowed just five goals over the Blackhawks’ last four games. However, despite their recent play and their combined 2.49 GAA and .916 save percentage, gamblers who wager on NHL games to go under the ‘total’ have been chagrined to see five of the Blackhawks last seven games go over the closing ‘total’.
Edmonton has struggled this season and is currently last in the Northwest Division. One of its bright spots though has been RW Ales Hemsky. Hemsky began to fulfill the promise that made him a first round pick in 2001 last season with 71 points, and he’s carried that success into this season. He currently leads the team with 29 points (10 G, 19 A) through 28 games. Last Saturday, in a 3-0 win against the Canucks, Hemsky scored once to lead the Oilers in a win against the NHL betting line.
Oilers gamblers have seen Edmonton’s goaltending trio sputter this season, as the triumvirate of Dwayne Roloson, Mathieu Garon, and Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers have combined for a 2.77 GAA and a .912 save percentage with only one shutout between the three. In their past three games though, NHL gamblers have seen sharp goaltending from the Oilers with all three games going under the ‘total’ per the pro hockey odds.
NHL betting trends to know for this game: Chicago is 8-3 in its L/11 games following a win, the Oilers are 2-6 in their last eight home games, and the home team is 20-8-3 in the last 31 games between the Oilers and Blackhawks.
NHL odds have the Blackhawks as a -125 moneyline road favorite with a game ‘total’ of 5.5 goals favoring the over at -120 odds.
You can wager on this game and fill all your other online sports betting needs at BetUS Sportsbook.
