Dallas Stars vs Chicago Blackhawks Prediction, 4/8/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Dallas Stars vs Chicago Blackhawks

Date: Thursday, April 8, 2021

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: NBC Sports Chicago

Odds/Point Spread: Stars (-118) Blackhawks (+100)

United Center is the site where Kevin Lankinen and the Chicago Blackhawks (18-17-5) will play the Dallas Stars (13-14-10) on Thursday. The Stars open this game at -118 while the Blackhawks are coming in at +100. The total has been set at 5.5.

The Stars will look to clean up some issues after taking a 4-2 loss to the Blackhawks in their last outing. Their offensive zone starts sat at 55.9% and they had a PDO of 86.6 for this one. They had 25 face-off victories when at even strength and were beaten on 28 attempts to control the puck. Their Fenwick came in at 33 and the Fenwick against was 24, giving them a Fenwick rate of 57.9%. The Corsi for the Stars was 47 and the Corsi against was 37 which means they had a Corsi rate of 56.0%. Dallas garnered 4 minutes in the box in this contest. Furthermore, they had 2 chances on the power play but didn't net one. The Stars didn't have their best offensive outing in the defeat. For the game, they tallied a score on 2 out of the 27 shots they attempted.

Dallas Stars opponents have totaled 108 power play opportunities (24th in the league) and have scored 24 goals in those chances. The Stars have had 1,017 shots taken against them and have earned a save percentage of .908. Dallas has attempted 1,094 shots and is the owner of a shooting percentage of 9.1%. While at even strength, the Stars have allowed the opponent to score 70 goals while notching 71 of their own. Dallas comes into tonight with 114 power play chances and they have scored 28 goals during those chances, giving them a rate of 24.56%. For the current campaign, they have tallied 36 points and their points percentage sits at .486. With respect to scoring goals, the Dallas Stars have racked up 99 goals (24th in hockey) this year and have allowed 94.

The man in net for this game is Anton Khudobin. Khudobin has played in 238 games during his NHL career. He has amassed an overall mark of 106-85-29 and he has started in 218 games. The opposition has racked up 540 goals against Khudobin in his pro career and his goals against average per game is 2.46. Khudobin has had 6,596 shots against him and has gathered 6,056 total saves. He has a save percentage of .918 in his 13,183 minutes played. In his career, Khudobin has recorded 126 quality starts and his quality starts rate sits at .578.

In their win over Dallas, Chicago had 3 power play chances in this game but weren't able to notch a goal. The Blackhawks netted 4 goals of the 28 shots on goal they attempted. Their PDO at even strength was 113 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 44.1%. Chicago earned a 44.0% Corsi rate. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Chicago had and it was a good performance overall. Their Fenwick percentage was 42.1% by compiling a Fenwick of 24 and the Stars having a 33 Fenwick at even strength.

Chicago has tried 1,166 shots (13th in the NHL) and has accumulated a shot percentage of 9.52%, while allowing the other team 1,337 shots. They have a penalty kill percentage of 74.11% on the other teams 112 power play chances, and their save percentage comes in at 90.9%. They have a total of 123 power play chances and they have earned a power play percentage of 25.20%. The Blackhawks have tallied 80 goals at even strength and 31 goals (5th in professional hockey) while having more men on the ice. They have allowed 122 goals to be scored by of a combination of 93 goals at even strength and 29 goals while they were shorthanded. On the campaign, the Chicago Blackhawks have earned a total of 111 goals, 41 points, as well as a points percentage of .513.

On the other side of the ice you are expected to see Kevin Lankinen in the crease. Lankinen holds a lifetime record of 14-10-4 and has played in 28 games. Lankinen's percentage of quality starts sits at 60.7% and he has made 17 quality starting assignments in his professional career. He has accrued 855 stops out of the 931 shots attempted against him, giving him a rate of .918. His opposition is averaging 2.69 goals per game and he has conceded 76 goals altogether. He has been a starter 28 games and his ice time sits at 1,694 mins.

Who will win tonight's hockey game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Chicago (+100)

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