by Chuck Sommers
Sunday, Nov 07, 2021
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: United Center, Chicago, IL
Where to watch: Bally Sports South, NBC Sports Chicago, SportsNet
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Both -110
BetMGM: NL
Caesars: Blackhawks -115, Predators -105
Season record
Predators: 6-5-0
Blackhawks: 1-9-2
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Predators - Blackhawks preview and analysis
Recent form
Predators: 6-4-0 in last 10
Blackhawks: 1-8-1 in last 10
The Chicago Blackhawks cannot, under any circumstances, stay out of the news.
Jeremy Colliton has been fired as Chicago coach, one week after the toy hammer was dropped on them in regards to the investigation surrounding Kyle Beach. Now the Blackhawks get to try and play a game, hosting the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
Chicago is off to a horrendous start, just in case you’ve been living under a rock. The Blackhawks lost their first nine, going 0-7-2, and have since followed that with their first win against the Ottawa Senators and then losing to the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets.
The Blackhawks are coming off yet another shellacking at the hands of an NHL opponent, this one via the Jets. Winnipeg scored twice in the first and second period, and Eric Comrie saw only 18 shots in the victory on Friday.
But the Blackhawks continue to be a complete disappointment for those who predicted them to make the playoffs. The acquisitions of Marc-Andre Fleury and Seth Jones have not panned out, and guys who are supposed to score have not done so.
Fleury allowed all five goals on 33 shots to push the third-winningest goalie in NHL history’s GAA to a ridiculous 4.11. Mackenzie Entwistle scored Chicago’s lone goal.
"There's no real excuse," Entwistle said. "We're coming in here against a big, solid team, and I think we've got to be ready to start the game. We get out to a 2-0 deficit early, it's tough to come back against a team like that. So, it's frustrating. We've got to start on time and there's no real excuse."
There have yet to be answers for how Chicago plans to overcome this, but it surely isn’t going to be Malcolm Subban and his terrible AHL numbers. You can’t use the distractions in recent weeks as an excuse because the guys that have been there from the beginning are still playing, and not well might I add.
Chicago will be hosting a Preds team that is off to a respectable 6-5-0 start and is coming off a 3-2 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.
Roman Josi and Matt Duchene added goals, and Philip Tomasino continued his hot start to his rookie season with his third goal; the game winner with 45 seconds remaining in the second period. Juuse Saros made 26 saves in the victory.
"It wasn't the most beautiful game but we found a way to win," forward Mikael Granlund said. "Obviously we have one guy in net who keeps making these saves and keeping us in the game, so it's a big road win for us."
Prediction
It almost seems too easy to count the Blackhawks out. They’re going to find a way to win at some point, but most of what we’ve seen from Chicago is losing to bad teams sprinkled with some average groups that shouldn’t look as good as they are.
Nashville has played well and have gotten great goaltending, but this seems like the perfect time to trust Fleury and let him get you a win. If Colliton really is the problem, there’s going to be some sort of rallying moment for interim coach Derek King. The lines aren’t that big to put a ton of money down, but Chicago winning seems like a solid upset pick. Blackhawks 3-2
Betting trends
The Predators are 3-0 ATS this season when playing a fourth game in seven days.
Nashville is 3-1 ATS this season following a road game.
The Blackhawks are 0-5 ATS this season following consecutive overs.
Projected lines
Predators:
Luke Kunin -- Mikael Granlund -- Matt Duchene
Eeli Tolvanen -- Ryan Johansen -- Rocco Grimaldi
Yakov Trenin -- Colton Sissons -- Tanner Jeannot
Nick Cousins -- Thomas Novak -- Philip Tomasino
Roman Josi -- Dante Fabbro
Mattias Ekholm -- Alexandre Carrier
Mark Borowiecki -- Matt Benning
Juuse Saros
Blackhawks:
Dominik Kubalik -- Kirby Dach -- Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat -- Philipp Kurashev -- Mike Hardman
Brandon Hagel -- Jonathan Toews -- Ryan Carpenter
Adam Gaudette -- MacKenzie Entwistle -- Dylan Strome
Calvin de Haan -- Seth Jones
Connor Murphy -- Jake McCabe
Erik Gustafsson -- Nicolas Beaudin
Marc-Andre Fleury
Statistical leaders
Predators:
Points: Roman Josi -- 12
Goals: Matt Duchene -- 5
Assists: Roman Josi & Mikael Granlund -- 8
TOI: Roman Josi -- 24:56
Goalie: Juuse Saros -- 5-4-0, 2.35 GAA, .923 SV%
Blackhawks:
Points: Patrick Kane -- 11
Goals: Alex DeBrincat -- 6
Assists: Seth Jones -- 10
TOI: Seth Jones -- 25:43
Goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury -- 1-7-0, 4.11 GAA, .881 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.
