The Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks meet in a cross-conference matchup.
The Blackhawks are tied with the Anaheim Ducks for the fewest wins in the league, a title both teams are trying to drop. While the future is bright for a young Anaheim team, it may be a while before Chicago has a competitive team.
If the season wasn't bad enough for the Hawks, it's almost inevitable at this point that Patrick Kane will be traded. He's been the face of their franchise since being drafted in 2007, and being in the twilight of his career, he'll go chase one more Stanley Cup.
Kane has a tremendous contract, so it will be almost entirely up to him where he is traded to. At the moment, the Boston Bruins appear to be the front-runner.
Capitals vs. Blackhawks Betting Odds
BetMGM: Bet $10, Win $200 if any NHL Team Scores a Goal
Capitals vs. Blackhawks Match Details
Fixture: Washington Capitals @ Chicago Blackhawks
Date & Time: Tuesday, December 13, 2022; 8:00 pm EDT
Venue: United Center, Chicago, IL
Capitals vs. Blackhawks Best Picks
With Chicago having a lackluster offense and Petr Mrazek in between the pipes to stop Washington's attack, goals will be hard to come by in this one.
This will likely be the lowest-scoring game on the slate. While Mrazek had a brutal start to the season, he had a tremendous start last time out. He only allowed two goals against New York on 24 shots. He performed like the goalie we saw in Toronto last year.
If he can have that kind of performance today, both these bets will easily cash. It's a set it and forget it kind of bet.
Under 6 Goals (-110) & No Goals in the First 10 Minutes
Capitals vs. Blackhawks Prediction
The call for this one comes down to who's starting in net for Washington. Charlie Lindgren is projected to start, which would make for an easy win against this Chicago club.
However, Lindgren has started the last five, and Washington has a challenging set of games coming up, hosting Dallas, Toronto, and Detroit.
This feels like the perfect game to start Darcy Kuemper. It would allow Lindgren to rest, and then hopefully, he'll be ready to rock against those more formidable opponents.
So going with that projection, Chicago should cover. However, if the news breaks late that Lindgren is starting, bettors should take Washington's puckline.
Chicago +1.5 (-140)
BetMGM: Bet $10, Win $200 if any NHL Team Scores a Goal