Both the Chicago Blackhawks and Golden Knights have been unable to find their stride early this season. While the Knights are 15-12-5, the Blackhawks sit at 12-12-6. Chicago will travel out to Vegas on Tuesday and take the ice against the Knights who are a -200 favorite.
Chicago Blackhawks
While the Blackhawks still have the core roster that brought them so much success in the past, they have failed to find consistency over the past few seasons, and they seem to be back on the same path this year.
The Blackhawks were able to get the third overall pick in the draft and grabbed a Kirby Dach, who has been a serviceable center. They also added goaltender Robin Lehner, who has played a significant role with the inconsistency from starter Corey Crawford.
Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks once again this season on offense with 14 goals and 22 assists, giving him 36 total points so far this year. Kane is the staple of the Blackhawks offense, and when he is playing well, the team can get wins, but when he fails to record points, the rest of the roster has a hard time putting together a complete game.
Both Crawford and Lehner have six wins in net for the Blackhawks this season. Crawford also has seven losses and two overtime losses, while Lehner has five regulation losses and four overtime losses.
Chicago is averaging 2.73 goals per game while giving up 2.97. They are also getting outshot 31.2 to 36.1. While Chicago has a roster that looks good on paper, they have not been able to put it together consistently on the ice.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Knights are sitting fourth place in the Pacific Division, just five points back from the Edmonton Oilers. Similar to the Blackhawks, the Knights had lofty expectations coming into the season, but have not found their stride.
The Knights will be at home for their Tuesday night matchup against the Hawks. They are in such a tight division that any time they can walk away with two points, they have a chance to shake things up.
Leading the Knights this season in points has been winger Max Pacioretty with 26. Riley Smith leads the team with ten goals, while William Karlsson has the most assists with 17.
Marc-Andre Fleury is the Knights starting goaltender once again this season, and he will be getting the start against the Blackhawks in this one. Fleury has an 11-6-2 record this season with a 2.54 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. The veteran is off to another solid season this year. He always gives Vegas a chance with him between the post.
Vegas is averaging 2.81 goals a game while giving up 2.91. They are outshooting opponents 33-to-31. After losing their last two games against the Rangers and Islanders, the Knights will look to bounce back at home in this one.
What to expect
The Knights enter the game as a -200 favorite over the Blackhawks, and I believe that is how this one will go. I like the Blackhawks roster in any game, but on the road, in Vegas, I like the Knights to use their home-ice advantage and to come away with the win.
The over/under in this game is set at 6.5, with each team allowing and giving up less than three goals a game, I’ll take the Vegas Knights and the Under in this game.
