The Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks face off on Thursday in an NHL showdown the United Center. Let’s look at the betting matchup and give a free Penguins vs Blackhawks prediction.
Penguins Can’t Have Much Confidence
The Penguins faced off against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday and it wasn’t a good game. The Penguins scored only two goals and they ended up losing by three goals. Tristan Jarry was awful stopping only 18 of the 23 shots that he faced. The Penguins are averaging 2.89 goals while their defense is giving up 2.63 golals per game. Sidney Crosby has scored 28 goals and added 24 assists.
Blackhawks Keep Losing Games
One season the Blackhawks are going to turn it around, but it’s not going to be yet. In the last game against the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks scored two goals, but the defense gave up four goals. The Blackhawks are averaging 2.08 goals while their defense is giving up 3.51 goals per game. The offense is ranked 32nd in the league while the defense is ranked 29th. Connor Bedard is still dealing with a jaw injury and he’s expected to be out for another week or two.
Chicago Blackhawks Team Facts
- The Blackhawks have lost each of their last seven games.
- The Blackhawks have covered the puck line in each of their last four games as home underdogs against opponents on a losing streak.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in each of the Blackhawks’ last eight games as underdogs against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- The Blackhawks have lost the third period in each of their last six games at United Center against opponents on a losing streak.
Pittsburgh Penguins Team Facts
- The Penguins have won seven of their last eight games on the second leg of a back-to-back.
- The Penguins have failed to cover the puck line in five of their last six games at United Center.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Penguins’ last six games as favorites.
- The favorites have won the third period in five of the Penguins’ last six games at United Center.
Penguins vs Blackhawks Betting Prediction
Both offenses are going to really struggle to score here. The Penguins are averaging 2.89 goals while the Blackhawks are averaging 2.08 goals per game. Both of these offenses are going to have some major issues scoring even a couple of goals and that is going to be the difference here as this game is going to stay under the total. This game will have only two or three total goals scored. Back the under.