Game 1 of the First Round NHL Playoffs between the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues takes place tonight. The game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on the NBC Sports Network. Currently the odds for the opening game have the Blackhawks favored.
St. Louis has been battling injuries this season to many of their forwards and it could come back to bite them in this playoff series. This is an extremely tough draw for the Blues as Chicago is one of the most talented teams in the league. The Blues won three of the five matchups with Chicago during the regular season, but the Blackhawks earned two wins in the final two games of the series.
T.J. Oshie is expected to be back in the lineup tonight along with David Backes and Vladimir Sobotka. If the Blues play closer to full strength this will be a very good series to watch. If they have to play without some of their best players, it goes without saying that it's going to be tough.
The Blues traded for goalie Ryan Miller hoping he could help them get to the Stanley Cup Finals. He started out on fire, winning seven of his first eight games but has struggled down the stretch, losing his last five starts and having a 3.56 goals against average during that time. Chicago has a lot of goal scorers, so Miller will need to get it figured out if he's going to play a major role in this series. Miller has some experience in helping teams go deep in the post season as he led the Buffalo Sabres to the conference finals in 2006 and 2007.
Chicago won the Stanley Cup in 2010 and last year as well. Both Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews missed time this season but they're back in the lineup tonight. The defending champions got 34 goals and 78 points from Patrick Sharp this season and five total Blackhawks scored at least 20 goals this season as they ranked second at 3.2 tallies per game this season. Marian Hossa scored 30 while Sharp has 29, Toews added 28 and Andrew Sharp totaled 20 tallies this season.
Goalie Corey Crawford has Stanley Cup winning experience and picked up 32 victories this season with a 2.26 goals against average this season.
With the experience for Chicago and the banged up St. Louis lineup, we like the Blackhawks tonight.
Free Pick: Chicago 4, St. Louis 2
Get Marco D'Angelo's MLB DIVISIONAL MASSACRE For Free — No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
NBA Fantasy: $100,000 Playoffs Big Score Contest — CLICK HERE TO ENTER
Baseball Handicapping Tips from Pregame Pro Dave Essler
Join us as we walk you through how Pregame Pro Dave Essler handicaps baseball. Going into this season Essler has had FOUR STRAIGHT winning MLB seasons.
$10,000 Match Marco Baseball Challenge — During the 2010 MLB season, Pregame Pro Marco D'Angelo won an unheard of 25 straight baseball games, never laying more than -$120! This contest replicates Marco's feat — CLICK TO JOIN
Stay on top of the latest odds and line moves for the NHL post season with our real-time odds from Las Vegas and offshore!