NHL Betting: Blackhawks Should Have a Field Trip at Arizona

The strength of a team is measured in a number of different ways that are more than just what the stats show. An indication of how good a team is can be found in how they handle adversity, which is something that can come in a number of different forms. The match-up between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Arizona Coyotes features a pair of teams who have been asked to handle some level of adversity in recent weeks. Check our NHL betting lines for the match here! Time: Thursday, 10 p.m. ET Venue: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Ariz. National TV: none Opening line: Chicago -225, Arizona +200 (5 goals)

NHL Betting Analysis and Game Preview

The Chicago Blackhawks were among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup at the start of the season, which was a billing that they were certainly living up to until the start of February. That was when Patrick Kane went down with an injury that will see him sit out the remainder of the regular season and a portion of the playoffs. The Blackhawks were active at the trade deadline, but Kane is a tough player to replace. As such, Chicago has essentially been playing .500 hockey since losing their star man. That has seen them drop off the pace in the Central Division, with Nashville and St. Louis opening up a gap at the top. To make matter worse, the Minnesota Wild are charging from behind and are close to overtaking the Hawks for 3rd spot in the division. There is still time for Chicago to right the ship before the season ends, but they are going to have to do it soon. The time for righting the ship seems to have passed for the Arizona Coyotes, as they have just gone through a stretch that effectively killed their season. The Coyotes dropped 10 games straight before picking up a surprise win over the Vancouver Canucks. The joy of victory was short-lived, though, as they went on to lose the two games following that win. You don’t have to look very hard to see where the problems lie for the Coyotes. During that awful stretch, the goals simply dried up, while it appeared that the net on their defensive end of the ice had doubled in size. You really do get the sense that another long losing streak could very well be on its way to Arizona.

Key Betting Trends

Arizona is 1-11 SU in its last 12 games Arizona is 1-10 SU in its last 11 games at home The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Arizona’s last 10 games at home

What Should You Bet On?

The Coyotes put in decent shifts is the last two losses versus Montreal and Nashville, but only scoring 1 goal in 2 games is not going to bring you much joy. They were certainly better defensively in those two outings and will need more of the same against Chicago. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will be enough to get them the win, though, and I like the Blackhawks to skate to an easy win.