The Chicago Blackhawks are at the top of the Western conference, which is right where they expected to be at this point in the NHL season. Meanwhile, their next opponent the Buffalo Sabres currently rank 10th in the Eastern conference standings, and are on the outside looking in for the playoff race. The Sabres travel to the Windy City this Wednesday looking to bring a sense of focus and urgency against one of the top Stanley Cup contenders, and if they don’t start tallying some numbers in the win column, it might not be long before they are out of contention.
Buffalo Sabres @ Chicago Blackhawks
Wedneday January 18, 2011 – 7:00 PM ET
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
NHL Sports Betting Line: Blackhawks – 135
While the Sabres need to play desperate hockey, Chicago could not be more comfortable, especially after a 4-3 comeback win over the San Jose Sharks at the United Center on Sunday night. The Blackhawks have one of the best home records in the NHL, and will look to add to their win total when they host Buffalo.
NHL Betting Preview: Buffalo Sabres
For all of the money that new owner Terry Pegula spent after buying the team this past summer, things haven’t turned out the way that they were expected to for the Sabres. Buffalo added a couple of top-four defenseman in Robyn Regehr and Christian Erhoff, and brought in Ville Leino to be a top-six forward. While Regehr and Erhoff have shown promise, Leino has been a bust so far, and the Sabres are struggling with certain things that they were supposed to be able to deal with. Goalie Ryan Miller hasn’t been the same since taking that shot from Boston Bruins’ winger Milan Lucic, and he may never again return to the form that he showed during the Winter Olympics a couple of years ago.
NHL Betting Preview: Chicago Blackhawks
The sportsbook review odds for this game undoubtedly say that the Blackhawks should win this game, even without Patrick Sharp, who has missed the past couple of games. Dave Bolland has done an excellent job filling in for Sharp, and he has four goals in his past four games while spending time on a line with Marian Hossa. Chicago appears to be over the goaltending controversy they faced starting in late December with Ray Emery emerging to steal some of the starts from Corey Crawford, but in the end the latter seems to be the favorite to take the no. 1 role. The Blackhawks are firing on all cylinders heading in to this game, and will look to move one step closer to their goal as top seed from the west.
NHL Betting Preview: Outlook & Pick
Given the way that the Sabres have underachieved this season, it would be hard to get one against a Chicago team that has been outstanding at home. The Blackhawks are among the most complete teams in the NHL, and should be able to give Buffalo a lesson about that as the online sports book favorites.
NHL Betting Pick: Chicago Blackhawks