Well, finally, we’re off the schneid with that over victory last night on the basketball court.
Now we transition back to the coolest game on earth with an over/under call on the matchup between the Utah Hockey Club and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Interestingly, these two Central Division rivals just engaged in a last-second minor trade before today’s deadline. In exchange for dealing a fifth-round pick to Utah, the Blackhawks acquired a couple of youngsters and retired defenseman Shea Weber’s contract.
Chicago also made a move earlier in the day, shipping out former starting goalie Petr Mrazek and center Craig Smith to Detroit for Joe Veleno.
Overall, the rebuilding Blackhawks made a few transactions this month, and one of their newest additions will be front and center for this total tonight. New goaltender Spencer Knight—whom the organization acquired from Florida last week—will be between the pipes as he pushes to win the starting job after settling for second fiddle behind Sergei Bobrovsky.
Knight just made his Blackhawks debut Monday evening against the Los Angeles Kings, and he was phenomenal, stopping 41 of 42 shots to claim a 5-1 victory.
The argument could be made that while he was still with the Panthers, Knight was regarded as one of the best backup goalies in the game and on the verge of breaking out if given a chance to start regularly. His story is one of perseverance, having left his former team in February 2023 due to a battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder. He went on to miss last season as well.
In his return to the NHL this year, Knight has been terrific, posting a 13-8-1 record with a 2.34 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. That GAA ranks him inside the top five in the league, and he has also notched a pair of shutouts.
The former first-round pick will have a strong opportunity for an encore, as Utah ranks tied for 22nd among all 32 clubs with 2.82 goals per game.
Meanwhile, Karel Vejmelka gets another start for Utah, marking a rare back-to-back for the 28-year-old netminder. He played last night in the Hockey Club’s victory over the Red Wings, shutting the door on 38 of 40 shots.
Vejmelka is enjoying the best year of his four-year career, holding a 17-16-4 record with a 2.44 GAA and a .912 save percentage. Most notably, this is his first time with a win-loss record above .500, and he has been so impressive that Utah just rewarded him with a five-year contract extension after last night’s game.
Perhaps the new contract will provide a little extra juice to Vejmelka’s performance tonight.
He has the right opponent to celebrate against. Chicago is once again mired in a tough campaign, sitting one spot from the Western Conference cellar and producing fewer shots per game (24.6) than any other team in the league.
Pick: Under 6 (-110, BetMGM)
NHL betting record: 31-24-3, +1.9 units
Over/Unders: 18-18-3
Goalie props: 13-6
Each bet is graded as if it were to win one unit.
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