After Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Blackhawks went on to win the Stanley Cup. Now, they return from the 2014 Winter Olympics with another gold medal with Team Canada. They hope to repeat their success with another league title. They begin their quest with a road game against the New York Rangers on Thursday night that Chicago should have no trouble winning.
The Blackhawks hit a tiny bump in the road prior to the Olympic break, dropping a 2-0 decision to the Phoenix Coyotes. In their final 10 games prior to the break, the Blackhawks played to a 4-3-3 record. They will need to resume the strong play they exhibited at the beginning of the season if they want to claim a top seed in the Western Conference playoffs in the search for another league crown.
New York won its final game before the break over the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 4-3 in a shootout. In their 10 games prior to the break, the Rangers enjoyed a 7-3-0 mark, helping them climb a bit up the Eastern Conference standings. The Rangers have climbed ahead of the Detroit Red Wings and the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference standings for right now. They are in the middle of the pack with 67 points.
The oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag have the visiting Blackhawks as -1.5 (+230) favorites to win tonight’s game with the Rangers. Chicago’s offense is so good that the Over/Under is set at 5.5 total goals. We like the Blackhawks, who have 84 points this season, with the Over 5.5 goals scored at +105 as they take down the host Rangers on Thursday night in Madison Square Garden. We will drop 15 percent of our bankroll with this sports wager tonight.
