by Chuck Sommers
Sunday, Nov 21, 2021
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC
Where to watch: SNP, NBC Sports Chicago+, ESPN+
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Canucks -135, Blackhawks +115
BetMGM: Canucks -133, Blackhawks +110
Caesars: Canucks -135, Blackhawks +115
Season record
Blackhawks: 5-10-2
Canucks: 6-10-2
Al McMordie has been killing it on the hockey rink over the last month, going 13-5-0 and reeling in a net profit of $6,180 in those 18 games. You don’t want to miss what Big Al will bring to the table this week at the rink. Catch Al’s and other plays available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.
Blackhawks - Canucks preview and analysis
Recent form
Blackhawks: 5-5-0 in last 10; lost 5-2 at Oilers on Saturday
Canucks: 3-6-1 in last 10; won 3-2 vs. Jets on Friday
The Chicago Blackhawks finally have a loss in the Derek King era.
They’ll look to start a new one when they take on the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Sunday.
It’s the second game of a back-to-back for the Blackhawks, coming off a 5-2 loss to the red-hot Edmonton Oilers on Saturday that saw Kevin Lankinen give up four goals in the first period alone.
Chicago seemed to finally turn a corner after firing coach Jeremy Colliton to culminate what has been an eventful few weeks/months for the Blackhawks organization. King took over and immediately the talented Blackhawks looked to have lived up to their potential over the course of that winning streak.
Alex DeBrincat scored both goals, and Kirby Dach assisted on them to provide the only offense plausible for the Blackhawks on this day. They did not have Connor McDavid buzzing around the ice, extending his point streak to 17 games with a goal and an assist.
"That's a good hockey team. We have to be on our game for all three periods, you can't have a shift off, and we made some errors with special teams and we turned some pucks over, lost some puck battles," King said. "Then we'd come back with the next shift and we won those puck battles and we looked good. We just have to figure out how to do that for three periods."
With Lankinen going Saturday, the Blackhawks will turn to Marc-Andre Fleury in goal on Sunday. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner has looked every bit like that over his past three starts, allowing five total goals and seeing his save percentage creep back over .900. The third winningest goalie of all-time is four wins away from 500 in the NHL and is coming off a 31-save performance Wednesday against the Seattle Kraken.
This is one of those matchups where neither team can afford to lose, and if they do they’ll fall back to a pattern they don’t want to be on. The Canucks are coming off a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday that ended a five-game losing streak (0-4-1).
Nine different players got on the score sheet for Vancouver with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland and J.T. Miller potting the goals. Thatcher Demko made 37 saves in the effort as he continued a set of games where he’s being asked to do a lot.
"We have some ground to make up here. Hopefully tonight is the start of stringing a few together and building some confidence in the room," Demko said. "We are all on the same page as far as what we want to accomplish. Guys aren't turning on each other and getting negative. It's a huge sign. It's something we have to keep building with."
The Blackhawks were the first team to move on from their head coach, and if things don’t continue to trend in the right direction for Vancouver, head coach Travis Green’s seat could be sizzling before we know it. Getting the win after the meeting between Green and GM Jim Benning was a good start. Can they do it again against the struggling Blackhawks?
Prediction
It’s not a drastic bit of travel for the Blackhawks to go from Edmonton to Vancouver, but I have a sense it’s going to play a bit of a role. The Canucks will have a fresh Demko while the Blackhawks will get a strong outing from ‘Flower.’ The problem is will Chicago have fresh guys in front of Fleury, or will it revert back to the same old problems playing in front of him? The Blackhawks are 0-5 in their last five second halves of the back-to-back and have lost the last five meetings in Vancouver. This seems like another solid game for Demko and co., so long as Chicago doesn’t get power plays and shots galore. Canucks win 4-1
Betting trends
The under is 5-0 in the Blackhawks’ last five after allowing five goals or more the previous game.
The Blackhawks are 5-0 in their last five after scoring two goals or less the previous game.
The Canucks are 0-4 when the previous opponent allows five goals or more the last game.
Projected lines
Blackhawks:
Alex DeBrincat -- Kirby Dach -- Patrick Kane
Brandon Hagel -- Jonathan Toews -- Dominik Kubalik
Henrik Borgstrom -- Dylan Strome -- Philipp Kurashev
Ryan Carpenter -- Jujhar Khaira -- Mike Hardman
Caleb Jones -- Seth Jones
Jake McCabe -- Connor Murphy
Riley Stillman -- Erik Gustafsson
Marc-Andre Fleury
Canucks:
Jason Dickinson -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Nils Hoglander
Conor Garland -- J.T. Miller -- Vasily Podkolzin
Tyler Motte -- Juho Lammikko -- Alex Chiasson
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Tucker Poolman
Quinn Hughes -- Travis Hamonic
Kyle Burroughs -- Tyler Myers
Thatcher Demko
Statistical leaders
Blackhawks:
Points: Patrick Kane -- 17
Goals: Alex DeBrincat -- 11
Assists: Seth Jones -- 13
TOI: Seth Jones -- 25:40
Goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury -- 4-7-0, 3.36 GAA, .901 SV%
Canucks:
Points: J.T. Miller -- 19
Goals: J.T. Miller -- 7
Assists: J.T. Miller & Quinn Hughes -- 12
TOI: Quinn Hughes -- 24:49
Goalie: Thatcher Demko -- 6-7-1, 3.22 GAA, .902 SV%
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
