NHL Hockey Betting - Chicago Blackhawks

NHL Betting 2007-08 – Chicago Blackhawks
Manager: Denis Savard
Arena: United Center
Last Season: 31-42-9, 71 pts (5th Central, 13th Western Conference
2008 Prediction: 11th Western Conference

Preseason Odds to win Stanley Cup: +8000

The Blackhawks are a curious team, which could surprise this season. People are so used to writing the Hawks off that they’ve become a beleaguered afterthought in the NHL – especially in terms of NHL betting action. Frankly, it’s hard not to when Martin Havlat led them team in scoring, despite missing 26 games last season. They were ranked second-last in scoring last season, tied with the atrocious Columbus Blue Jackets.

The offense will be rejuvenated as long as Martin Havlat can stay healthy. He suffered a high ankle sprain last season, so there’s no reason to believe he won’t bounce back this season after scoring 57 points in 56 games last year. He will be joined this year by Yannic Perreault and Robert Lang, who have both lost a step in speed and scoring. They will be relying on Patrick Kane, the number one overall pick of this year’s draft, and Jonathan Toews (3rd overall, 2006) to achieve their potential fast.

The defense was so bad last season that the club pretty much cleaned house, so this year is a clean slate for the defensemen in Chicago who are all young and still learning the art of the blue-line.

Nikolai Khabibulin is the top-paid goaltender in the NHL, but hasn’t been earning his keep. He posted a 2.86 goals against average with an awful .902 save percentage. He hasn’t played well in two seasons, and health has been an issue. Simply put, there is no way the Blackhawks can win with lackluster goaltending, especially with a young, inexperienced blue-line and an offense that remains hopeful at best.

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Official Website: www.chicagoblackhawks.com