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St. Louis Blues vs. Chicago Blackhawks Gambling Prediction & Preview

St. Louis vs Chicago Hockey Betting?

Blackhawks Look to Slow Scorching Blues Wednesday

The St. Louis Blues find themselves in an unenviable spot as we head into the stretch drive of the NHL season – in first place in the Western Conference with room to spare.

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St. Louis (47-14-4-3) at Chicago (39-15-6-8)
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Broadcast: TSN2, NBCSN
Blues vs. Hawks Betting Lines
St Louis Blues +1½ -275 +112 Ov 5½ +124
Chicago Blackhawks -1½ +230 -123 Un 5½ -137
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Matchup | *Insiders* Preview

The Blues head to Chicago Wednesday night to take on one of the teams staring up at them in the standings – the Hawks are eight points back and fading as we begin closing the curtain on the regular season. The Blues have won all three meetings between the clubs so far and have won four straight against Chicago overall heading into Tuesday night`s clash.

The St. Louis Blues are on fire – 8-0-1 in their nine games in March and now sitting eight points ahead of Chicago in the Central Division. Everything is going right for the NHL overall leaders – defensively they have hit a new gear with the addition of Ryan Miller between the pipes and offensively this team keeps chugging along as one of the best in the land.

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Ryan Miller still hasn`t lost in regulation as a member of the St. Louis Blues – 7-0-1 with a 1.61 GAA in his eight starts since the trade. It certainly helps when the team ahead of him is playing so well. Example – St. Louis surrendered only 17 shots in a 3-1 win against Winnipeg Monday night – not a lot of quality chances for their opposition that night. As a team St. Louis allows just 2.19 goals per game – among the best in the league in that department.

While the Blues continue to get it done in the defensive zone, they also remain one of the best offensive teams in the NHL averaging 3.21 goals per game. David Backes scored twice Monday and has a three-game point streak (two goals, two assists), Jaden Schwartz has 15 points in 15 games, Alex Steen has three points in three games, Patrick Berglund and Jay Bowmeester each have two points in two games and Alex Pietrangelo has four points in four games. The Blues played without TJ Oshie who should be back Wednesday and Vladimir Terasenko Monday night and didn`t miss a beat.
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The Chicago Blackhawks have struggled lately – their play certainly hasn`t been indicative of a team chasing the top seed in the conference. The Hawks have gone just 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, 7-7-4 in their last 18 and are coming off a 3-2 OT loss in Philadelphia Tuesday night. The Hawks have been playing tough but have been unable to get the timely goal as of late – four of their last five losses have come by one goal.

Offensively the Hawks are still one of the best offensive teams in the NHL averaging 3.30 goals per game. Patrick Sharp has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his past eight games, Andrew Shaw has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past six, Marian Hossa has one goal and three assists in his past two and Patrick Sharp has 32 points in 31 games – plenty of consistent firepower on the team. The Hawks’ power play has struggled of late however – just 3 for their last 33 chances including zero for three last night.

Defensively Chicago has been decent as well allowing 2.52 goals per game. Antti Raanta got the start Tuesday so we should see Corey Crawford between the pipes Wednesday. Crawford is just 6-4-0 in his last 11 games but he does have a terrific 1.64 GAA over that span with a .939 save percentage.

Dave’s FREE NHL Betting Prediction

A few trends to consider:
• STL are 7-1 in their last 8 vs. Western Conference.
• STL are 36-15 in their last 51 vs. Central.
• STL are 42-18 in their last 60 overall.
• CHI are 48-20 in their last 68 home games.
• CHI are 39-19 in their last 58 Wed. games.
• STL are 2-8 in the last 10 meetings in Chicago.
• Home team is 16-6 in the last 22 meetings.

It`s hard to believe but the Chicago Blackhawks look ordinary right now while the Blues look untouchable. St. Louis was built to beat the Chicagos of the world – their size, their grit and their skill is a matchup nightmare for the Hawks. St. Louis has dominated Chicago this season – no reason to think it won`t continue Wednesday night.

Pick: St. Louis Blues +112

By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.