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Jeremy Perry
Blackhawks vs. Golden Knights Game 2 Prediction, Stanley Cup Playoff Odds
The Vegas Golden Knights got an early jump on the Chicago Blackhawks, beating them 4-1 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Quarter-Final. The Blackhawks scored 16 goals in their qualifying series with the Edmonton Oilers, scoring no fewer than three goals in any contest. Can they rekindle their offensive magic in Game 2 or will the Golden Knights jump ahead 2-0 in the series?
Blackhawks vs. Golden Knights NHL Stanley Cup Odds
With Tuesday’s loss, the Blackhawks are now just 18-26 on the season when facing a team with a winning record. They’ve had trouble with this matchup, losing nine of the last 10 meetings between the teams.
As for Vegas, the win moves them to 43-32 on the year. They are 10-4 this season when riding a three-game unbeaten streak and are 19-13 when scoring four goals or more in their previous game.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks offense was nowhere to be found on Tuesday night as they managed just one goal in the contest. That was a shorthanded marker from David Kampf as the Blackhawks were blanked the rest of the night. Their offense was listless, which is surprising considering how electric they were in their qualifying series. The Blackhawks really didn’t generate many opportunities as they only had 20 shots on net and two power play opportunities.
The Blackhawks are not a good defensive team – they finished the regular season allowing 3.06 goals per game, which was 15th in the NHL – so they have to win by outscoring their opponents. Putting up just one goal won’t cut it – especially against Vegas – so they better be prepared to get three or four on Thursday or they’re going down 2-0.
Vegas Golden Knights
It wasn’t all that surprising that the Golden Knights scored four times on Tuesday. The Blackhawks did beat the Oilers 3-1 in their qualifying series but the Oilers still managed to score 15 goals in the process. Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford has been a major sore spot all season long and that’s carrying over into this round. He’s now posted an .891 save percentage this postseason with a lofty 3.75 GAA. This will be a very short series unless he turns it around.
As for Vegas, they have to be happy with the efforts from Robin Lehner. He got the start in Game 1 and stopped 19 of 20 shots. The Golden Knights kept him out of harms way, possessing the puck for most of the game (57.32% of the time) and limiting the Blackhawks to just four High Danger Chances. With the Golden Knights expecting to get to three or four goals in each game, they should be able to pick up wins as long as they continue to minimize shots and chances.
CHI
VEG