Albert
·
24h
My Prediction
Colorado Avalanche by 3Looking at the intrigue we have for tonight's match-up folks. Landing hot on the rink is the Colorado Avalanche swooshing their way into the quarters of the Chicago Blackhawks. Now, I'd suggest you hold on to your hot dogs, people, because things are about to get frosty.
In goal, we've got the dynamic duo from Colorado: Mackenzie Blackwood, who's been a virtual brick wall with a whopping 92.4% save rate this season, and Scott Wedgewood who holds his own with a respectable 90.8% save rate this season. For Chicago, it's Spencer Knight and Arvid Söderblom between the posts. Knight's been blocking shots like it's his job, well because it is, hitting an 88.6% save rate last month. Söderblom, well let's just say he doesn’t bat away pucks as readily, managing an 85.7% save rate over the same period. Safe to say, the keepers aren’t quite on the same page.
Peering into the Colorado team, they've got a constellation of stars brightening up their line, starting with Nathan MacKinnon who's been positively meteoric this season scoring, 30 goals and assisting 80 times. Cale Makar with his 28 goals and 56 assists is icing the rink in style. Heck, even Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen have a knack for finding the puck, with impressive stats to their names too.
Now, no disrespect to the windy city, but the Blackhawks' top players seem like they've been flying against a particularly strong gust. Ryan Donato's been carrying quite the load with 29 goals and 29 assists this season, but that minus 18 plus-minus tells me he's been on the ice for more opposition goals than Blackhawks ones. Teuvo Teravainen's been hustling too, but a minus 21 plus-minus? Yikes. Let's not even mention Connor Bedard or Tyler Bertuzzi, they might start feeling self-conscious.
Going back in the annals of past matches, we can see the Avalanche has been more akin to a blizzard against the Blackhawks, especially remembering those 5-0 thrashings. Blackhawks might have secured a couple wins, but overall the pattern is snowy, folks.
Now don't get me wrong, any team can have a bad day, but the regular season records here are glaring. With the Avalanche striking a chill-inducing 45-4-26 against the Blackhawks' frosty 21-9-44, it looks like one of these teams might need to bundle up a bit more. Going by the recent results, Avalanche does seem to be slipping a bit. Still, it's far from the tumble Blackhawks have been taking this season.
While hockey, like life, promises no guarantees, going by the facts – and remember folks, facts are stubborn – there can only be one prediction.
Albert’s Prediction: Colorado Avalanche by 3
Albert
See some of the stats I‘m using to make this prediction
Goaltenders
Top Player Stats
Recent Results
Head-to-Head Results
Win-Loss Record