In their second head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Arizona Coyotes and the Chicago Blackhawks collide at the United Center for a Western Conference tilt. This one will get started at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 10 and it’ll be shown live on Fox Sports Arizona.
Arizona Coyotes vs. Chicago Blackhawks Odds
Chicago (-245) is currently favored over Arizona (+205). The Over/Under (O/U), set at 6 goals, originally opened at -115 for the under and -105 for the over. Those odds have moved since they opened, and they now sit at -110 for the over, -110 for the under.
The Blackhawks are 13-16 straight up (SU) and have lost 6.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. That early-season winning percentage is a noticeable slide from what the team recorded during the 2016-17 season (50-32). Of its 29 regular season outings, 15 have gone under the total, while 13 have gone over and just one has pushed. The teams 7-7 SU at home this year.
Chicago has converted on just 16.0 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s ranked 28th overall in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked seventh overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.5 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Chi-town has been penalized 4.0 times per game overall this season, and 2.6 per game over its last five outings at home. The team has been forced to kill penalties for just 7.4 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, in total.
With a .930 save percentage and 29.1 saves per game, Corey Crawford (12-10-2) has been the primary option in goal for the Blackhawks this year. If head coach Joel Quenneville decides to rest him, however, the team could roll with Anton Forsberg (2-8-8 record, .906 save percentage, 3.32 goals against average).
Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat will both spearhead the attack for the Blackhawks. Kane (27 points) has tallied 10 goals and 17 assists and has recorded two or more points on six separate occasions this year. DeBrincat has 12 goals and nine assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 14 contests.
Over on the other bench, Arizona is 7-25 straight up (SU) and has lost 15.1 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 32 regular season contests, 16 of its games have gone under the total, while 14 have gone over and just one has pushed. As the away team so far, Arizona is 4-16 SU.
Arizona has converted on just 15.7 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s ranked 29th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 15th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.2 percent of all penalties.
Arizona’s players have been penalized only 3.1 times per game this season, and 2.4 per game over their last five on the road. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 4.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Antti Raanta (24.4 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Arizona. Raanta owns a 4-10-2 record, while registering a .919 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Coyotes will be Clayton Keller (11 goals, 12 assists) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (six goals, 12 assists).
Arizona Coyotes at Chicago Blackhawks Betting Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Blackhawks, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The total has gone under in three of Chicago’s last five outings.
- Arizona has managed 29.6 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Chicago is averaging 35.2 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- The Coyotes are 4-14 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 5-20 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Chicago is ranked 16th overall this season with 7.5 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down recently, however, as it has created 6.6 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.2 takeaways over its last five.
- Arizona has scored 2.3 goals per game this year, but has been averaging 1.0 goal per match up over its last three games (0-3 SU over that span).
- Arizona is ranked 31st in the league with 5.2 takeaways per game. That figure has trended higher lately, as the team has averaged 6.0 takeaways over its last 10 games and 8.0 takeaways over its last five.
