One of the best series in last year’s playoffs was when St. Louis and Chicago met in the first round of the playoffs. The Blues grabbed a 3-1 lead, but the Blackhawks stormed back to force a Game 7 and many thought the defending champs would rise to the occasion in the deciding game. However, the Blues hung tough and were able to survive and ended up making the Western Conference Finals before bowing out to the San Jose Sharks.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
Last season, the Blues were a great road team, winning 19 of their final 26 road games. That ability to win on the road came in handy in a postseason where home ice mattered little.
For Chicago, the Blackhawks struggled with Central Division opponents at the end of last season. The team from the Windy City won just 5 of its last 18 against inter-divisional opponents and will need to do better to return to the playoffs.
GOALIE REPORT
Last season, Jake Allen and Brian Elliott split time in net for the Blues, but the St. Louis front office has made the decision that Allen is their guy for the future. The Blues traded Elliott to the Calgary Flames for a second-round pick and look set to ride Allen this season.
Whether or not Allen is able to play on Wednesday is anyone’s guess though. Allen injured his leg on Saturday in the team’s final preseason game and is a game-time decision according to coach Ken Hitchcock. Carter Hutton will likely be the team’s starter if Allen is unable to go on Wednesday.
The Blackhawks have one of the top goalies in the league in Corey Crawford and he will be looking for revenge after a somewhat shaky postseason against the Blues last season. St. Louis tallied three or more goals against Crawford in five of the seven games and he has to remember that his performance didn’t help.
LIVE BETTING
The over could be a solid play in this one based on how the series between the two sides went last year. Six of the seven games had at least five regulation goals in them and both teams were able to pepper the opposing goalie with shots.
QUICK PICK
St. Louis rolled the dice with former No. 1 pick Neil Yakupov this offseason, acquiring him in a trade with Edmonton. It’s a smart move as the Blues need to find offense from somewhere after finishing in the middle of the pack in scoring in the Western Conference last season and he could be the spark that lights this team. If he can become a complimenting scoring threat to Vladimir Tarasenko that would be huge to their chances.
The Blackhawks have one of the game’s best in Patrick Kane. Kane won the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP last season after tallying his first 100-point season in 2015-16 and makes this team dangerous. He and Jonathan Toews are two of the best around and should have no trouble leading Chicago back to the playoffs.
Although the Blues got the best of them last season, there are a lot more questions surrounding St. Louis heading into this year. Chicago was a rock solid 26-11-3-1 at home last season and will get the win here in the season opener.
NHL Odds: Blackhawks 4, Blues 2
