Betting Blues Blackhawks – Blackhawks Looking For Life Against Upstart Blues

Since Ken Hitchcock took over as the new head coach of the St. Louis Blues, the team has transformed from a pretender to one of the true contenders in the Western conference this season. The Chicago Blackhawks also have one of the best head coach’s in the game in Joel Quenneville, but success has been much harder to come by of late. After dropping nine straight leading in to last week, the Blackhawks have some major work to do at both ends of the ice, and Sunday’s matinee game against the Blues should be a good place to start as the sports betting favorites.

St. Louis Blues @ Chicago Blackhawks
Sunday February 19, 2012 – 12:30 PM ET
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
NHL Sportsbook Line: Chicago Blackhawks

Maybe since Hitchcock is in the building anyway Quenneville might pull him aside and ask him what he can do to get his team to play better at their own end. While the goaltending tandem of Corey Crawford and Ray Emery has been sub-par for most of the season, it is impossible to blame Chicago’s recent struggles solely on them, and it will take a full team effort if the Blackhawks are going to things around.

Betting Blues Blackhawks Preview: St. Louis Blue

What the Blues have done since Hitchcock took over has been nothing short of phenomenal, climbing all the way up to third place in the Western conference on the strength of a team defense that ranks first in the NHL in goals per game allowed. It took awhile for Jaroslav Halak to get his level of play back up to what it was when he led the Montreal Canadiens to the Eastern conference finals two years ago, but with Brian Elliott holding down the fort until he returned to form St. Louis was just fine. Halak is now playing some of his best hockey, the Blues are scoring goals, and everything seems to be going right in St. Louis once again.

Betting Blues Blackhawks Preview: Chicago Blackhawks

While Blues’ fans could not be happier with their team’s turnaround, the exact opposite could be said by Chicago fans that are wondering if their team has the talent to turn its season around. Nine straight losses were a mixture of poor goaltending, awful defense, and a lack of scoring, and there isn’t one area on this Blackhawks’ team that couldn’t be better. Fortunately for Chicago they have been much better at home than on the road this season, and if they can get back to doing the basic things right they should be fine as the sports bet favorites.

Betting Blues Blackhawks Preview: Outlook & Pick

With trade rumors flying all around the Blackhawks, now would be a good time for the team to get going and make a run to rejoin the elite teams at the top of the Western conference. For as good as St. Louis has played, they do not have the same overall talent that Chicago does, so if the Blackhawks can finally begin to play to their potential once again they should be fine on home ice following a long and brutal road trip.