Wednesday evening brings a cross-conference matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. The puck drops at 7:30 PM ET. Chicago is coming off a 5-0 thrashing of the Ottawa Senators and has been improving lately, going 6-4 in their last ten outings. Detroit, on the other hand, is in a serious slump, losing six straight. They fell to the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday and have dropped out of the Wild Card race for now. Keep reading for the Blackhawks vs Red Wings prediction.
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Despite their recent cold skid, the Red Wings are a heavy -211 favorite at BetOnline. The Hawks come back at +189, while this game’s total is six goals. In recent memory, Chicago has the upper hand, winning three of the last four against Detroit.
The Blackhawks officially hit the reset button last week by trading franchise star Patrick Kane away to the New York Rangers. It only made sense, considering they have the worst record in the Western Conference right now at 22-36-5 and could very well land projected first-overall pick Connor Bedard in the 2023 draft. That will surely be Chicago’s goal because Bedard, who currently stars for the Regina Pats, is a franchise-altering player who can help turn things around for the Blackhawks in the coming years. Chicago heads into Wednesday’s matchup fresh off one of their best performances of the season so far, absolutely embarrassing the Sens at the United Center. Defenceman Seth Jones led the way here with two goals, while winger Anders Bjork provided three assists in the victory. In between the sticks, Alex Stalock made 35 saves as well. Considering the Hawks’ recent success against Detroit and Sunday’s outcome, they will fancy their chances to win another.
The Red Wings were right in the mix for the Wild Card but have been in a downward spiral for weeks. The team is just 3-6-1 in their previous ten outings and, as previously mentioned, hasn’t won in six games. That leaves them six points off the Pittsburgh Penguins, who occupy the final East Wild Card spot. During this losing streak, Detroit has scored just nine times and allowed 27 goals. Rough. Unfortunately, their upcoming schedule doesn’t exactly give them a chance to turn things around possibly. After Chicago comes to town, the Wings face the Bruins on back-to-back days, the Predators, Avalanche, and Panthers, all teams considered contenders. On Sunday, David Perron scored the lone goal in a 3-1 defeat to the Flyers. Perron found the back of the net in the first, but Philly responded with three goals across the next two periods. On a more positive note, the Red Wings own a sub .500 record on home ice in 2022-23, going 15-12-4. Perhaps that could improve Wednesday with a much-needed win.
I’m backing Chicago to keep up their winning ways against Detroit. The moneyline offers fantastic value.
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