Ducks vs Blackhawks

Anaheim enters this one having stabilized after a bumpy stretch, winning three of its last five and coming off a 5-4 shootout comeback over the Kings, while Chicago has slid into a five-game losing streak that’s dropped them to 10-9-5 despite a respectable early-season profile. The injury sheet is a mixed bag: the Ducks remain without Lukas Dostal for a couple of weeks and have Mikael Granlund on injured reserve, but their top six of Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Cutter Gauthier and Troy Terry is intact and driving a 3.63 goals-for rate, whereas Chicago may again be missing Teuvo Teravainen and is already without Nick Foligno, putting even more weight on Connor Bedard to carry the offense. Historically this building has been a house of horrors for Anaheim — the Blackhawks are 8-1-1 in their last 10 at United Center against the Ducks and 17-4-1 in the last 22 overall, including a 2-1 OT win in October where Bedard fired nine shots and Ryan Donato buried the winner — and Bedard’s 12 points in seven career games vs Anaheim underline his matchup edge. Still, with Chicago reeling, Anaheim leading the Pacific and owning the more dynamic five-on-five attack, I’m willing to lay the short road price and back the Ducks at -125 on the moneyline, but the strong Chicago matchup history and home-ice factor cap this at a B-grade value play rather than a premium position. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 30/11/2025 09:24am

The form guide points to offense: Anaheim’s last two outings finished 5-4 and 5-4, and they’re playing wide-open hockey with 3.63 goals for and 3.25 against per game, while Chicago averages 3.13 goals for and 2.88 against behind Bedard’s 33 points in 24 games, even as the team rides that five-game skid. With Dostal sidelined and Ville Husso stepping in after a solid but busy 23-save performance against Los Angeles, the Ducks’ crease looks slightly more volatile, and on the other side Chicago’s potential loss of Teravainen, along with Foligno’s continued absence, concentrates ice time and puck touches into an already aggressive top unit featuring Bedard, Tyler Bertuzzi and Andre Burakovsky. Layer on Anaheim’s shaky 75.0 percent penalty kill against a Chicago power play clicking at 22.9 percent, plus recent Blackhawks scorelines like 9-3 at Buffalo and 7-3 over Ottawa alongside the Ducks’ own run of high-event games (7-5 at Dallas, 7-3 vs Florida, 4-3 and 5-4 wins in the last week), and there are multiple avenues to this total getting to seven or more despite Chicago’s recent struggles. I’m playing Over 6.5 at -115 and grading it a B: the statistical case and matchup dynamics are strong, but reliance on special-teams efficiency and variable goaltending keeps the risk and value profile solid rather than elite. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 30/11/2025 09:24am

Chicago’s five-game losing streak looks ugly in the standings, but four of those defeats (4-3 to Nashville, 4-3 to Minnesota, 3-2 to Seattle, 1-0 to Colorado) have come by a single goal, and even the earlier 2-1 OT win over Anaheim in October underscored how tight this matchup tends to be, with Bedard driving play and Donato providing the finish. Anaheim’s recent profile also leans toward one-goal margins: they’ve edged Vegas 4-3, needed a 5-4 shootout escape against the Kings, and have sprinkled in other nail-biters around their occasional multi-goal wins, all while missing Dostal and Granlund and relying on Husso behind an offensively tilted blue line featuring Jackson LaCombe and Pavel Mintyukov. Historically, this has been Chicago’s matchup — 8-1-1 in their last 10 home games against the Ducks and 17-4-1 in their last 22 overall — and Bedard’s 12 points in seven career games versus Anaheim suggest that even if the Blackhawks extend their skid, they’re more likely to lose close than get run out of their own building. Given Anaheim’s superior record and deeper top six, I’m not eager to fade them outright, but taking Chicago at +1.5 on the puckline at -240 profiles as a high-probability, lower-upside angle that earns a B+ grade, particularly for bettors looking to anchor parlays with a leg that leans into the long history of tight Ducks–Hawks games at United Center. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 30/11/2025 09:24am