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L.A. Kings vs. Chicago Blackhawks Game 7 NHL Gambling Prediction & Lines

Kings vs Hawks Playoff Betting?

It’s Time to Settle the Score – Kings and Hawks Play Game 7 Sunday Night

Well, nobody can say that the series between the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks hasn’t been exciting! The two teams put an end to their fascinating series Sunday night when the Kings, losers of two straight games head east to take on a Chicago Blackhawks.

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Los Angeles (57-35-4-6) at Chicago (57-26-9-8)
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, June 1, 2014
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Broadcast: CBC, RDS, NBCSN
Series Tied 3-3
In Canada? Try Pinnacle Sportsbook
Kings vs. Blackhawks Betting Lines
Los Angeles Kings +1½ -240 +135 Ov 5 -110
Chicago Blackhawks -1½ +200 -149 Un 5 +100
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The Hawks are a team that has suddenly woken up! Los Angeles will be looking to avoid their third three-game losing streak in the playoffs but must navigate a team that is clicking in all aspects of the game. The New York Rangers await the winner between the last two Cup champions.

Attention to detail – that is what has made the Los Angeles Kings successful and something that has been slightly lacking the last two games of the Western Conference Final. The Kings have given up an uncharacteristic 19 goals so far in the series (9 in the last two losses) – obviously they are being taken out of their game.

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Perhaps the biggest concern for the Kings heading into Game 7 is the play of Jonathan Quick. He isn’t solely to blame for the scoring chances the team is giving up but he certainly isn’t helping matters either. Quick has a goals against average of 3.02 and his save percentage is .886 in the six games thus far – hard to believe. He has allowed three or more goals in four of six games and never surrendering fewer than two in any of the six games.

Quick is LA’s best player and if he is struggling, there is only so much that the surprisingly top ranked playoff offense can do.

Speaking of offense. The Kings have scored 20 goals in the six games of the series – 3.5 per game. Anze Kopitar has 23 points in the playoffs, Jeff Carter has 21, Marian Gaborik has 18, Justin Williams has 16 and Drew Doughty also has 16 points so far in LA’s 20 games. Despite losing the last two games the Kings have scored seven goals – which should be good enough to win!
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What carried the Kings during their three wins in the series “That 70’s Line” of Carter, Toffoli and Pearson has gone a tad cold which is cause for concern for LA. The line was simply unstoppable in Games 2,3 and 4 but have struggled since. They were a combined minus -6 in Game 5 and were completely outplayed by a Chicago second line that has completely stolen the show.

Many, including myself buried the Blackhawks after Game 4 – nothing was going right – they were dominated in every aspect of the game by the Los Angeles Kings. But momentum has completely shifted and the Hawks now look like the team in the driver’s seat.

Patrick Kane has woken up – and that has been one of the differences for the Blackhawks – the other being the strong, game-changing saves that Corey Crawford has come up with at key times during the last two contests.

Kane had seven points over Games 5 and 6 – two goals and an assist Friday followed a four assist outing in Game 5. Kane is 1st player since Cliff Ronning (VAN 1992) to post 3+ points in consecutive games with his team facing elimination. Kane and new linemates Brandon Saad and Andrew Shaw have truly been the difference makers in the series – LA simply has no answers for the trio.

Early on it was the Jeff Carter line that tope up the series – now it is the Kane line wreaking havoc. With Corey Crawford looking like the difference makes most envisioned when the series started and with Kane scorching hot, Chicago looks as though they are going to be awfully tough to stop – especially on home ice… and I haven’t mentioned Jonathan Toews yet!

Dave’s FREE NHL Betting Prediction

A few trends to consider:
• Under is 26-10-7 in LA last 43 Sun. games.
• Under is 8-2-1 in CHI last 11 Sun. games.
• CHI are 8-2 in their last 10 games following a win.
• CHI are 51-18 in their last 69 home games.
• LA are 1-7 in the last 8 meetings in Chicago.
• LA are 3-8 in the last 11 meetings.

For the Kings – their best chance to close out the Chicago Blackhawks was on home ice – Chicago was just 2-6 away from home in the playoff before that win. Both teams have a ton of experience in deciding games but one stat jumps off the page at me – the Hawks are an astonishing 13-0 in Games 5, 6 and 7 in the last two seasons.

Chicago has seized momentum and taken away all of what LA had done well earlier on in the series. I had Chicago winning the series before it started – no reason to go back on that now!

Pick: Chicago Blackhawks -149

By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.