Edmonton Oilers vs Chicago Blackhawks Predictions, Free NHL Pick 3/5/2020

Game: Edmonton Oilers vs Chicago Blackhawks

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2020

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: NSCH/RSNW

Odds/Point Spread: Oilers (+109) Blackhawks (-120)

Total/Over-Under: 6.5

Mike Smith and the Edmonton Oilers (36-23-8, 2nd in the Pacific Division) go to United Center on Thursday where they'll meet the Chicago Blackhawks (30-28-8, 7th in the Central Division). The Blackhawks open this matchup at -120 while the Oilers are coming in at +109. The O/U opens at 6.5. The Oilers are covering 52.3% of the time, having gone 34-31 SU. The Blackhawks are covering 41.9% of the time, going 26-36 straight up.

The Edmonton Oilers come into the game holding a record of 36 victories and 23 defeats, which is good for 2nd in the Pacific Division. During the year thus far, they have racked up a total of 212 goals which ranks them 4th in the West and 11th in the league. Their goal differential is +9, which is good for 14th in the league. The Oilers have compiled a total of 80 pts, which ranks them 10th in the league and 5th in the conference. With regard to shots on goal, they have compiled a total of 1,990 which ranks them 13th in the conference and 26th in the league. As a team, Edmonton currently has a total of 1,384 hits which has them averaging 20.7 per contest. They have compiled a total of 851 blocks for this year. The man protecting the goal for Edmonton is Mike Smith from Kingston, Ontario. He is 37 years old and has racked up 2,066 minutes protecting the net this year. Smith is allowing an average of 2.88 goals against average which has him ranked 18th among West goalies and 37th in the NHL among goaltenders. So far this year, he's surrendered 99 goals. His save percentage is .905 which has him ranked 24th among West goalies.

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The Edmonton Oilers came out of this game feeling pretty good about themselves with a 2 - 1 win over the Dallas Stars in their last contest. The Oilers could have played much better offensively in this win. In this game, they finished 2 out of the 27 shots they attempted. In addition, they had 5 power play attempts and scored 2 goals out of those chances. Edmonton earned a total of 12 penalty minutes in their game. The Corsi for the Oilers sat at 28 and the Corsi against at even strength was 51 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 35.4%. Their Fenwick was 25 while the Fenwick against sat at 39, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 39.1%. They earned 18 face-off wins and lost 30 of the face-offs. Their starts in the offensive zone came in at 38.2% and they had a PDO of 100.0 for this matchup. Concerning opponent stats, the Dallas Stars tallied 43 shots. They had 10 penalty mins and they had 6 power play chances.

The Blackhawks will be the team across the ice and for the current year they have 30 wins and 28 defeats. Regarding goal differential, they are ranked 11th in the Western Conference and 23rd in the league with -8. They currently have a total of 197 goals for the season which is 9th in the West. Chicago has a save % as a team of .913 which currently has them ranked 6th in the league, meaning chances to score may be scarce. They have a team shooting percentage of 9.4% which is good for 7th in the conference. In net for Chicago is Corey Crawford who is having an average year by giving up 2.82 goals per contest and that has him ranked 15th among West goaltenders and 32nd in the NHL among goaltenders. In the 2,106 mins he has played this year, he's surrendered 99 goals. He holds a save % of .916, which has him ranking 13th among West goaltenders and 22nd in the NHL among goaltenders.

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The Chicago Blackhawks faced the Anaheim Ducks in an outing where the Blackhawks ended up with the victory by a final of 6 - 2. In their game, Chicago had a 54.9% Corsi rating. They earned that percentage by having a Corsi of 62 while the opposition had a Corsi of 51. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 50.0% by way of having a Fenwick of 42 and the Ducks earning a 42 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi statistics are telling of the type of game that Chicago played and it tells us that they played really well in this game. Their PDO at even strength was 111.6 and their oZS percentage was 40.6%. The Blackhawks netted 6 goals out of the 40 shots on goal they tried. They had 2 power play opportunities in this outing but weren't able to notch a goal. In discussing their opponent, the Ducks had 3 power play opportunities but were not able to notch a goal. Chicago allowed 39 shots on goal and the Ducks earned a total of 4 penalty mins.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Guy's Pick: Take Chicago (-120)

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