Saturday’s NHL Opening Odds
(The Spread) – There are 11 games on the NHL schedule Saturday with three of them happening in the afternoon and the other eight at night. Continue reading for opening lines, odds and totals for January 22, 2011.
While the Chicago Blackhawks are the defending NHL Stanley Cup champions, they know full well that the Detroit Red Wings are a threat year in and year out to hoist the trophy.
The two divisional rivals will square off Saturday at 2:00PM EST as the Red Wings will play host at Joe Louis Arena. Oddsmakers and online sports book Sportsbook.com have made Detroit a -145 moneyline favorite in the contest, while the over-under is at 5.5.
The Red Wings (29-12-6) are currently on top of the Central Division in the Western Conference, but are still trying to get fully healthy as injuries have hampered them over the past month-plus. Even so, Detroit continues to find way to improve and it did so again Friday by signing former San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov to a one-year contract.
Detroit is coming off a 4-3 victory Thursday at St. Louis, while the Blackhawks (25-18-4) have not played since Sunday’s 6-3 home win over Nashville. The latest trends show that the Red Wings are 12-7 against Chicago over the past three seasons.
Henrik Zetterberg leads the Red Wings with 16 goals and 36 assists, while goalie Jimmy Howard is 23-7-3 with a 2.83 goals-against average. Patrick Sharp has notched 25 goals and 19 assists to pace the Blackhawks. Corey Crawford is 15-8-2 in net with a 2.13 goals-against average.
Also dropping the puck in the afternoon are the Boston Bruins and the host Colorado Avalanche at 3:00PM EST. Colorado is a -120 favorite and the over-under is 5.5. The New York Rangers are at the Atlanta Thrashers as that game starts at 7:00PM EST. Atlanta is listed as a -130 favorite and the over-under is 5.5. The Anaheim Ducks are at the Montreal Canadiens at 7:00PM with the hosts being a -130 favorite, while the over-under is 5.5.
For a complete list of opening odds for Saturday’s NHL games, see below.
1 New Jersey Devils +190 (5)
2 Philadelphia Flyers -230
3 Chicago Blackhawks +125 (5.5)
4 Detroit Red Wings -145
5 Boston Bruins +100 (5.5)
6 Colorado Avalanche -120
7 New York Rangers +110 (5.5)
8 Atlanta Thrashers -130
9 Washington Capitals -135 (5.5)
10 Toronto Maple Leafs +115
11 Carolina Hurricanes +135 (5.5)
12 Pittsburgh Penguins -155
13 Anaheim Ducks +110 (5.5)
14 Montreal Canadiens -130
15 Los Angeles Kings +110 (5)
16 Phoenix Coyotes -130
17 Columbus Blue Jackets +135 (5.5)
18 St. Louis Blues -155
19 Calgary Flames +190 (5.5)
20 Vancouver Canucks -230
21 Minnesota Wild +145 (5.5)
22 San Jose Sharks -165
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