Blues vs Blackhawks

Tyler Bertuzzi just dragged Chicago to a three-game heater and 3-0-1 stretch, and even with Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar sidelined, the current Blackhawks roster on ESPN still offers enough top-six punch Bertuzzi, Andre Burakovsky, Jason Dickinson and a capable tandem of Arvid Soderblom and Spencer Knight to make them live home dogs against a Blues team that, despite two straight wins and Jordan Binnington’s recent shutout, still carries a negative goal differential and has leaned heavily on Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou’s long-running dominance of this matchup. With both clubs sitting just outside the Western wild-card line at essentially the halfway mark, urgency should be maxed out, but Chicago’s recent form at United Center and their ability to grind out one-goal wins tilt me slightly toward the plus-money side in what still profiles as close to a coin flip at the listed prices, so I’ll take the Blackhawks moneyline at 105 for a solid but not elite value edge, grading this play a B. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 07/01/2026 09:30

Even with Bedard and Nazar out, this projects as a sneaky scoring environment: Chicago’s current group has been playing in up-tempo games during its three-game win streak, Bertuzzi is on a tear, and the Blackhawks have quietly been more dangerous offensively at home, while St. Louis comes in off back-to-back wins where their core of Thomas, Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich drove offense despite the Blues’ season-long issues suppressing shots and goals. The Blues’ defensive injuries and lack of Torey Krug on the back end have contributed to an inflated goals-against number, and with Binnington coming off a big shutout and due for some regression plus Chicago’s goaltending still unproven over a large sample, there’s a realistic path to both sides getting to at least two or three goals in a game that matters for the Western playoff logjam around the wild-card cut line. Given the combination of leaky team defenses, offensive focal points who have historically produced in this rivalry, and late-game empty-net risk if either team is chasing critical points, I lean Over 5.5 at -110, but the injury drag on Chicago’s scoring ceiling keeps this to a B- rather than a stronger endorsement. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 07/01/2026 09:30

For the puckline, the way these teams are constructed and where they sit in the standings makes Chicago +1.5 feel safer than laying goals with St. Louis, even at a steep -250: the Blues have played a ton of one-goal decisions this year, still struggle to drive play consistently despite their recent mini-surge, and their best weapons Thomas and Kyrou have historically torched Chicago but often in tight, low-margin games rather than blowouts, while the current ESPN-listed Blackhawks group has been living on tight wins with strong efforts from a young defense led by Alex Vlasic and Connor Murphy and opportunistic scoring from Bertuzzi, Ilya Mikheyev and depth centers like Ryan Greene. With both clubs essentially in the same Western bubble neighborhood and every point crucial, it’s more likely Chicago locks this into another grinder at United Center than completely unravels, especially facing a Blues blue line missing pieces and a goaltending tandem that can still be volatile behind a soft defensive structure; that profile makes swallowing the heavy juice on Blackhawks +1.5 the side I slightly prefer, though the limited payout caps the overall value at a B- grade. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 07/01/2026 09:30