Friday’s NHL slate is a rather small one, but there are a couple of games worth tuning into for fans and bettors alike. The Chicago Blackhawks (2-2-1) have won their last two games and now host the Vancouver Canucks (2-2-0), who come off a standout road victory over a probable Stanley Cup contender. It’s a battle of youth against veterans in this matchup tonight.
Get ready for the action with a Blackhawks vs. Canucks prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Friday night.
Blackhawks vs. Canucks prediction, preview
Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks started the campaign on a sour note with three straight losses to the Panthers, Bruins (OT) and Canadiens, but this young squad seems to have flipped a switch in their last game. After a 3-1 win over the Mammoth on Monday, Chicago traveled for a date against the Blues and emerged with an 8-3 drubbing of a 2024 playoff team. That victory doesn’t mean they’ve turned a corner, but the Blackhawks did look much better in their last two contests. The kids are finding their stride as young cornerstones Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard pace the roster with six points apiece along with veteran Teuvo Teravainen, whose chemistry on with Nazar on the second line stands out with each a +4.
Early signs are looking more encouraging with top-10 averages of 3.60 goals per game and 2.80 goals against, though the Blackhawks are still bottom-four in shots with 21.6 per contest. Starting goaltender Spencer Knight posts a 2.35 GAA and .920 SV% against 87 attempts in three appearances, and a penalty kill rate of 81.8% is respectable enough. The power play could use a little work at 18.8%, though the sample size of 16 opportunities obviously remains too small to draw any major conclusions.
Vancouver Canucks
As for the visitors, the Canucks have experienced an up-and-down start with a win over the Flames, losses to the Oilers and Blues, and a victory over the Stars. The latest one, a road trip to Dallas, saw Vancouver rally from down 0-2 at the start of the second period and quickly turn the game around into a 5-3 win. It’s tough to deny just how much fight the team showed in that one against a contender, with Quinn Hughes coming alive with a goal and assist to bring his points tally to three in four games. He’s tied with Brock Boeser, Filip Chytil, Kiefer Sherwood and Conor Garland for the team lead, and the first three of those forwards all have three goals apiece. It’s a team effort here to start the year.
The Canucks now average 3.25 goals per game while conceding an even 3.00. They’re hitting at a 20% rate on the power play and killing penalties at an 81.3% clip, though of course, it’s still very early. Much like the Blackhawks, this team isn’t putting a ton of shots on net with an average of 24 per contest, and they suffer from a similar issue that’ll be mentioned in the next section. On a positive note, Thatcher Demko appears fully recovered from last year’s injury with a 2.03 GAA and .929 SV% on 79 attempts in three games.
Blackhawks vs. Canucks pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Canucks as -135 favorites on the Moneyline tonight, while the Blackhawks come in at +114 odds. The total sits at 6.5 combined goals.
If there are two things these teams haven’t done well to start the campaign, it’s limit shot opportunities for opponents and win faceoffs. To this point, both sides fall in the bottom 12 with Vancouver allowing 30.5 per game (sixth-most) and Chicago giving up 29.2 (12th-most). There should be plenty of pucks flying tonight and the over/under certainly reflects that. In the faceoff department, the Canucks are 28th at 45.5% followed right behind in 29th by the Blackhawks at 44.2%. Something will have to give there, but regardless, scoring should be bountiful in this spot with neither side truly strong on the blue line (despite the obvious first-line pairing of Hughes and Hronkek.
For those who would rather avoid the slightly higher-than-normal total, I recommend playing Vancouver straight up on the Moneyline. They’ve got the better goalie (though not by much to start the year) and the best player in the game in Hughes, plus much more experience around the roster.
