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The New Guards in the West
Wednesday night’s NHL action features a game between two of the youngest teams in the league. Los Angeles and Chicago are young, fast, talented and confident not unlike the Pittsburgh Penguins of a few years ago.
Los Angeles Kings (39-22-4) @ Chicago Blackhawks (43-17-5)
8:30 PM ET, Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The United Center, Chicago, Illinois
On: XM Satellite Channel 207
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• The Chicago Blackhawks rank 2nd on offense, and average 3.2 goals per game. The Blackhawks are 19.6% on the power play and have 46 power play goals.
• The Los Angeles Kings rank 8th on offense, and average 3.0 goals per game. The Kings are 20.0% on the power play and have 50 power play goals.
• The Blackhawks average 3.3 goals per game at home, and give up 2.3 goals against on defense.
• The Kings average 2.8 goals per game on the road, and give up 2.6 goals against on defense.
Los Angeles Kings: +160
The Los Angeles Kings have a real opportunity to make people stand up and notice them. By beating the Blackhawks in Chicago, they instantly become a team to reckon with in the West, that’s if they haven’t legitimized themselves yet. Los Angeles is 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and is an impressive 8-2 in their last 10 road games. They have the seventh best record in the NHL and have become a team that nobody wants to face.
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Young defensive Studs like Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson are the anchors to a team that has succeeded on offense too this year. Anze Kopitar, Alex Frolov, Ryan Smith, and Dustin Brown all have at least 40 points this year and names like Stoll, Handzus and Simmonds are not far behind. LA is a good team that should give the Hawks a run for their money on Wednesday night.
Chicago Blackhawks: -190
The Chicago Blackhawks have been lighting it up all year, particularly on home ice where they are 25-7-2. The young guns Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have been on fire lately and the suspect Cristobal Huet has been solid and even spectacular at times this season. What’s scary is that offense and goaltending may not be the strongest aspect of this team. Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell and Brent Seabrook are an All Star defense and help guard their zone and to start the transition game that has made the Hawks such a dangerous team. Although the Hawks made no significant trades at the deadline, their team is still stacked.
The Chicago Blackhawks have had two days off to digest a disappointing loss to the Detroit Red Wings in front of a National television audience last Sunday. Look for the Hawks to come out firing and improve upon their amazing 20-8-1 record over their last 29 games,
Pick: Chicago Blackhawks -190