Ottawa Senators vs Chicago Blackhawks 3/12/22 NHL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators meet Saturday in NHL action at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Chicago Blackhawks need a win after losing eight of their last 12 games. The Ottawa Senators need a win after losing seven of their last 10 games.

The Chicago Blackhawks are averaging 2.6 goals per game and are scoring on 20.2 percent of their power play opportunities. Alex DeBrincat leads Chicago with 34 goals, Patrick Kane has 46 assists and Seth Jones has 140 shots on goal. Defensively, the Chicago Blackhawks are allowing 3.4 goals per game and are killing 75.4 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Marc-Andre Fleury has given up 119 goals on 1,296 shots faced, and Kevin Lankinen has allowed 55 goals on 479 shots.

The Ottawa Senators are averaging 2.6 goals per game and are scoring on 17.9 percent of their power play opportunities. Josh Norris leads Ottawa with 22 goals, Thomas Chabot has 27 assists and Brady Tkachuck has 190 shots on goal. Defensively, the Ottawa Senators are allowing 3.2 goals per game and are killing 80.2 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Anton Forsberg has allowed 67 goals on 844 shots faced, and Matt Murray has allowed 60 goals on 640 shots.

The Blackhawks are 5-17 in their last 22 Saturday games and 6-15 in their last 21 overall. The Senators are 2-6 in their last 8 home games and 2-5 in their last 7 overall. The over is 5-0 in Blackhawks last 5 overall. The under is 19-7 in Senators last 26 overall. The Blackhawks are 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Ottawa and 18-5 in the last 23 meetings.

I’m not looking to back either of these teams with the way the losses are piling up. You can make a case for the Chicago Blackhawks given that they’ve owned the Senators over the years, but it’s fair to say this year’s Blackhawks aren’t the same as past years. If forced to pick, I’d lean toward the Senators because of home ice. Overall, this is a rough game between two teams going nowhere fast.