Chicago hopes to hammer Calgary tonight
The Blackhawks don’t resemble their usual selves through the first six games of the season. Fortunately for the Windy City faithful, a get-well card should arrive tonight.
Joel Quenneville’s gang drops the puck against woebegone Calgary at 8:30 p.m. ET. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives Chicago odds of -170 to handle its business at United Center. Conversely, the Flames represent +150 underdogs.
As Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews keep trying to gain traction, unheralded players like Richard Panik and Tyler Moore are performing most of the heavy lifting for Quenneville. Panik leads the NHL with six goals, while Moore just picked up a big marker in Saturday’s 5-4 triumph over Toronto. Artem Anisimov and Marian Hossa have also collected tallies at crucial moments.
Still, no one around the esteemed organization is enthused about a 3-3-0 start. The coaching staff certainly expects better goaltending from Corey Crawford, too. His .886 save percentage ranks among the worst in the Western Conference so far.
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With Calgary trudging into town, though, there’s ample hope for a dominant performance. Glen Gulutzan’s group got bombarded in a weekend loss to St. Louis. To make matters worse, top forward Johnny Gaudreau owns a dreadful minus-7 rating. Take the Blackhawks in a rout.
MONDAY NHL FREE PICK: BLACKHAWKS -1.5