NHL Picks: Chicago Blackhawks vs Nashville Predators

Thursday, 14 February 2008

The Chicago Blackhawks roll into today after winning last night in NHL Picks action when they travel to take on the Nashville Predators. This will be the final game of a long 7 game road trip for the Blackhawks where they have gone 2-4 thus far. Yesterday’s win put Chicago at 25-25-0-6 on the season overall and are 27^th in overall points in the NHL. The win was their second in their last three games after going through a five game losing streak previously. After ranking 8^th in the NHL in scoring during the early part of the season the Chicago Blackhawks have really struggled offensively as they are now 15^th scoring an average of 2.73 goals per game. Their defense has also been performing poorly as they come into this game ranked only 21^st giving up 2.84 goals per game while their starting goaltending sports only a 90% save percentage. BetOnline.com has the Blackhawks listed as a rather large +170 underdog on the money line and +1.5/-175 on the puck line.

The Nashville Predators come into this NHL Picks contest sporting a two game winning streak including a win over the best team in NHL, Detroit Redwings, in their last game. Last season the Predators were the class of the West sitting at the top spot in the conference before injuries dropped them to fourth overall. Although going into the playoffs after a successful regular season the Predators didn’t last long as they were bounced out by the San Jose Sharks in the first round. Although the Predators started off this season not quite as successful ranking 25^th in total points they have since appeared to get back to last years form as they now rank 10^th with a 30-22-0-6 mark. Much of the success can be attributed to the rise of their defense. After giving up an average of over 3 goals per game and ranking near the bottom they now average 2.62 goals per game and rank 10^th. In addition, their starting goaltending has a save percentage of 94% over their last four games.

The Predators have won 8 of their last 12 games overall including their last big win and that bodes well for Nashville backers as they are an impressive 31-7 ATS in home games after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 3 seasons. The Blackhawks might have a tough time staying on track tonight as well as they are only 12-11 ATS in road games after having lost 4 or 5 of their last 6 games over the last 2 seasons, but it might be worth a shot considering them being such a large underdog.

Michael Alexander has been handicapping the NHL for 20 years and has hit 67% of his selections over the last two seasons and ended last year’s playoffs on a 22-3 run! Join Michael at Alexandersports as he has GUARANTEED Winning NHL Picks all season long.

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