Hawks Host Bruins In Stanley Cup Rematch
Marian Hossa was hot against the Ducks Friday. Can he now lead the Blackhawks to a win over the Boston Bruins in Sunday’s lunchtime NHL showdown?
In a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Finals, the Chicago Blackhawks host the Boston Bruins Sunday.
Face-off at the United Center is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET.
The lunchtime game will mark the first time the two sides have met since the Blackhawks lifted Lord Stanley’s cup following a Game 6 victory in Boston.
The Bruins have had seven long months to live with the pain and will look to exact revenge when the two sides take to the ice Sunday. Of course, even a win on Sunday won’t fill the void left by last season’s near miss. It will take a series win in June to relieve that sting.
A rematch between the two sides in the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals is by no means a long shot.
Chicago (31-8-11, 73pts) currently leads the Central Division and were it not for the unbelievable form of the Anaheim Ducks would be sitting at the top of the Western Conference.
The Blackhawks served notice to the Ducks Friday, defeating the Pacific Division leaders 4-2 in the Windy City to move within six points of the conference toppers.
As has been the case for so much of the season, offense led the way on Friday. The Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Ducks scored a brace in the third period. Marian Hossa, who netted a short-handed goal in the first period, added an empty-netter with seven seconds left to put the game out of reach.
Hossa’s next goal will see him join Patrick Sharpe (25 goals) and Patrick Kane (23) with 20-plus goals on the season.
The Blackhawks are averaging a league-best 3.5 goals per game. The side has scored three or more in 35 of 50 games, going 27-6-2 when doing so.
Things haven’t turned out so well when the side fails to score three. Joel Quenneville’s club is 4-2-9 when scoring two or fewer, by no means a disastrous record, but a key statistic.
Quenneville will hope his high-scoring offense is on form on Sunday.
Boston (30-15-2, 62pts) also sits top of its respective division and second in the conference. The Bruins trail only the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Bruins will arrive at the United Center looking to build on a win over the Dallas Stars in Texas on Thursday.
The 4-2 victory saw the Bruins snap a three-game losing streak on the road. Claude Julien’s side will look to go one step further with a win over the Blackhawks Sunday.
Like Chicago, the Bruins have an effective offense. The side averages 2.9 goals per game, good enough for seventh in the NHL, and has seven scorers with 10-plus goals.
But unlike Chicago, the Bruins have a defense to match. Boston allows just 2.2 goals per game, second only to the Los Angeles Kings (1.96 goals against per game). The Blackhawks meanwhile allow 2.6 goals per contest (15th), preferring to rely on outscoring opponents.
Could the Bruins defense make the difference in this one?
Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks odds for 01/19/2014
Playing at home, Chicago (-152) opens as the favorite over Boston (+138).
The Blackhawks won the final three games of last year’s Stanley Cup Finals to move to 6-2-2 against the Bruins over the last 10.
Boston however has won four of its last seven visits to the United Center.
Boston (-220) is favored to cover the 1.5-goal spread ahead of Chicago (+190). Six of Chicago’s last 13 games have gone to overtime or shootout, all of which the Blackhawks have lost. This would be in keeping with Boston covering the spread.
The over/under opened at 5.5 with the over (-121) being favored to the under (+110). However, most sportsbooks now prefer the under, so it’s worth shopping around on this one.
The total has gone over in eight of Boston’s last nine road games but under in four of Chicago’s last six at home. Perhaps the key statistic then is that the total has gone under in four of Boston’s last six visits to the United Center.
Boston will host Chicago on March 27 to close out the season head-to-head.
Can David Krejci and the Boston Bruins upset the Blackhawks in Chicago Sunday?
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