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L.A. Kings vs. Chicago Blackhawks Game 5 NHL Gambling Prediction & Lines

Kings vs Hawks Playoff Betting?

Kings Look to Put Blackhawks Away – Game 5 Wednesday Night

The Chicago Blackhawks return home Wednesday night in an unforeseen hole – down 3-1 against a Los Angeles Kings team that has looked unstoppable since the third period of Game 2. Since that time Los Angeles has outscored the Blackhawks 14-6 and have beaten Chicago in virtually every aspect of every game.

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Los Angeles (57-34-3-6) at Chicago (55-26-9-8)
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Broadcast: CBC, RDS, NBCSN
Kings Lead Series 3-1
Kings vs. Hawks Betting Lines
In Canada? Try Pinnacle Sportsbook
Los Angeles Kings +1½ -255 +124 Ov 5 -105
Chicago Blackhawks -1½ +215 -136 Un 5 -105
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The Blackhawks do have a recent history of coming back when their backs are against the wall but the mountain they must climb against an uber-confident Kings squad looks to be insurmountable at this point in time.

Will Chicago discover something that has been missing the last 3+ games or will the Kings continue their domination en route to a second Cup appearance in the last three years? Let’s break it down.

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The Los Angeles Kings look every bit like the team that steamrolled their way to a Stanley Cup in 2012 – every aspect of the game has clicked particularly in the last three games in the series. We all know about the defensive prowess of the Kings but a team that ranked near the bottom of the NHL in offense during the regular season has found another gear and has been remarkable this postseason.

LA has the four top four scorers left in the playoffs – Marian Gaborik leads the NHL with 10 goals, Anze Kopitar leads with 17 assists and 22 points, Jeff Carter has eight goals, 12 assists, and Justin Williams has six goals, nine assists – unreal. Tyler Toffoli has six goals, five assists, Tanner Pearson has three goals, eight assists and defenseman Drew Doughty three goals, 11 assists so far in the series.
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Needless to say, LA is tops in the playoffs with an average of nearly four goals per game.

In addition to the offense is an incredible efficiency on the power play. The Kings have scored on five of their last 10 man advantage opportunities and they have two goals that have come directly after the Hawks have killed off a penalty. Like I said, everything is going right for the Kings in the offensive zone as we head into Game 5.

Jonathan Quick has rebounded nicely from a slow start to the playoffs – to say the least! Since giving up 16 goals in the first three games against San Jose, Quick has surrendered just 30 goals in the last 15 games and along the way he has made his share of game/series changing saves.

I said it before and I will say it again – Quick is the best clutch keeper in the game right now – it will take a special effort to get anything by him Wednesday night.

Now for the Hawks – they have been underwhelming in every aspect of the game ahead of Wednesday night’s clash. They have scored 10 times in the four games thus far – OK numbers but two of those goals have come in garbage time when the game was already out of reach.

Patrick Kane has just one assist so far in the series and his line which consists of Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp have just one goal combined in the four games. Jonathan Toews has been invisible at times and Chicago’s depth has not been a factor at all. The Hawks have scored on just one of 11 power play chances in the last three games, compared with LA’s five – total domination by Los Angeles!

Now that I have covered the offensive woes of Chicago, let’s get to the issues defensively and in between the pipes for the Blackhawks. Corey Crawford began the series strong by making 25 saves on 26 shots in a 3-1 Game 1 victory. From there, it’s gone downhill for him and the Blackhawks.

They have been outscored 15-7 in three consecutive losses, and Crawford has allowed 13 goals and had a .842 save percentage during the span – ugly indeed.

Dave’s FREE NHL Betting Prediction

A few trends to consider:
• LA are 20-6 in their last 26 games following a win.
• LA are 23-7 in their last 30 Wed. games.
• LA are 6-2 in their last 8 road games.
• CHI are 50-18 in their last 68 home games.
• CHI are 42-20 in their last 62 Wed. games.
• Home team is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings.
• Under is 18-7-2 in the last 27 meetings in Chicago.

By now, my pick should be blatantly obvious – the Kings have controlled absolutely every aspect of the game since Game 1.

The Chicago Blackhawks have hit the skids at precisely the wrong time. Los Angeles looks eerily similar to the team that dominated everyone in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs – nobody touched them then and it appears as though nobody will touch them now.

The Kings stamp their ticket to the Final Wednesday night leaving Chicago with more questions than answers.

Pick: LA Kings +124

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.