The Vancouver Canucks look to knock off the pesky Chicago Blackhawks tonight, Tuesday April 26th, as Game 7 of the Western Conference quarter-finals kicks off. These two teams have split their last ten games. NHL oddsmakers have the Canucks as -165 moneyline home favourites over the Blackhawks (+150) with the over/under set at 5.5 goals. Be sure to check the Sabres vs Flyers NHL Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
Chicago (3-3, 2-0 V) have won three straight tests to force tonight's decisive Game 7 in Vancouver. The defending Stanley Cup champions will try to complete the amazing comeback. The Blackhawks lost the first three games of this series and it appeared that the club's title defence was going to be short-lived. However, Chicago posted blowout victories in Games 4 and 5 and then made this evening's showdown a necessity by recording an overtime win Sunday in the Windy City. The Blackhawks earned their latest victory in 4-3 fashion thanks to Ben Smith's game-winner at 15:30 of overtime. Rookie goaltender Corey Crawford made 32 saves to post the win for Chicago. Chicago is expected to be without forward Tomas Kopecky again. Kopecky hasn't played since suffering an upper body injury in Game 1.
Vancouver (3-3, 2-1 H) has never lost a series that they have led three-games-to-none. Vancouver's only series defeat with a 3-1 lead came in the 2003 conference semifinals against Minnesota. The Canucks are also trying to avoid becoming the third straight Presidents' Trophy winner to lose in the first round. Washington was bounced out by Montreal in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals after having the league's best record last spring and San Jose was ousted two years ago by eighth-seeded Anaheim. owever, the story of the game was Vancouver's decision to start Cory Schneider over Roberto Luongo, who was pulled from the previous two contests. Making his first career playoff start, Schneider stopped 17-of-20 shots before leaving early in the third period with an injury. Luongo, who started 60 games during the regular season and was named as one of three finalists for this year's Vezina Trophy, played the rest of the game and turned aside 12-of-13 shots. "All year long we've used both goaltenders and I'll tell you the truth, I went with a gut, I thought Cory could give us a good game tonight," Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault said. The Canucks played most of Game 6 without defenseman Sami Salo and he is questionable for tonight's game with an undisclosed injury.
Recent Trends to Consider:
Over is 10-3-1 in the last 14 meetings in Vancouver.
Over is 3-1-1 in the last 5 meetings.
Home team is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
Underdog is 21-10 in the last 31 meetings.
Canucks are 4-1 in their last 5 games as a favorite of -151 to -200.
Canucks are 14-4 in their last 18 games playing on 1 days rest.
Blackhawks are 1-4 in their last 5 games as a road underdog of +110 to +150.
Blackhawks are 1-4 in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Blackhawks vs Canucks
When: Tuesday, April 21, 7:30 PM ET
Pick: Canucks -165
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The Bottom Line: It all boils down to goaltending and who scores first. Be sure to check Blackhawks vs Canucks Hockey Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
