NHL Picks: Blackhawks to match franchise record, Kings top Ducks – CBSSports.com
Welcome to NHL Picks where CBSSports.com hockey writers Chris Peters and Adam Gretz make their predictions for all the day’s games.
Montreal Canadiens at Chicago Blackhawks, 7 p.m. ET
The Chicago Blackhawks are on fire right now, owning the second longest winning streak of the NHL season thanks to 10 straight victories. A win Sunday night against the Montreal Canadiens would help the team match the longest winning streak in Blackhawks history.
Chicago won 11 consecutive games in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season during which they completed the increasingly rare double of winning the Presidents Trophy as regular-season champion and the Stanley Cup. Now defending the Stanley Cup for the third time in six years, the Blackhawks seem to be defying somewhat lowered expectations as they continue their ascent up the league standings.
Thanks to this lengthy streak, the Blackhawks are now alone in first place in the Western Conference and second overall in the NHL. They’re one of just two teams to have eclipsed 30 wins so far this season and a third of those victories have come over the last three weeks.
Standing in their way to taking another step forward in the league standings and matching franchise history will be a very desperate Canadiens squad. The Habs have lost three straight as part of a stretch in which they’ve dropped 15 of 19. This disastrous run has seen Montreal fall from comfortably in first place in the Atlantic Division to barely clinging to the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Florida Panthers, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins have all pulled ahead of the Habs, while the Tampa Bay Lightning has ended up pulling even.
It might not be panic time in Montreal, but it’s really darn close. Carey Price remains out of the lineup for a few more weeks and this group just doesn’t seem to have an answer. There’s open speculation that Michel Therrien’s job could be in danger and general manager Marc Bergevin has to be exploring ways to help this team via trade. But if they’re looking to quell their misery, the United Center is probably not the best place to expect that to happen.
The Habs did play pretty well the last time these two clubs hooked up, just three days ago. Montreal ran into a red-hot Corey Crawford though and could only muster one goal against him. The Habs probably deserved a better result, but they had to contend with one of the hottest goalies in the league.
Crawford has been between the pipes for seven of Chicago’s 10 straight wins and has been the difference in several of those games. Crawford is on his way to a Vezina-caliber season (though there are several goalies already in that conversation) thanks to a 25-10-2 record, with a .929 save percentage, 2.17 goals-against average and six shutouts. With the way the Montreal native is playing, it could be another frustrating night for the Canadiens.
Then you throw in Patrick Kane and his run of dominance this season. The star winger has 17 points over the 10-game winning streak and has boosted his NHL scoring lead to 67 points. He leads the league in both goals and assists as well. He has an 11-point cushion on Jamie Benn for the NHL scoring title and has 25 more points than his next closest teammate while pacing the Blackhawks. He didn’t get on the scoresheet in Chicago’s 2-1 win against Montreal Thursday night, but is coming off of a four-point performance against Toronto which included his first regular-season hat trick.
The Habs are limping into this game after a tough 4-3 overtime loss to the Blues. Whatever swagger they had at the beginning of the season is gone and they risk falling out of a playoff spot for the first time all season. There should be some desperation in their game, but it may not matter with the Blackhawks coming off of a day off and having the chance to match franchise history in the comforts of home ice. Pick: Blackhawks 4, Canadiens 2
Corey Crawford will make his second straight start against the Canadiens. (USATSI)
The rest of Sunday’s picks
Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Carolina Hurricanes 1
New York Islanders 4, Vancouver Canucks 2
Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Florida Panthers 2
Washington Capitals 4, New York Rangers 2
Detroit Red Wings 3, Philadelphia Flyers 1
Los Angeles Kings 4, Anaheim Ducks 3
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