NHL Wednesday betting preview: Back the Blues to put on a show

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We had to settle for a 2-2 night on Tuesday, but still managed to turn a small profit.

Of course, if you followed along with our trend of the night and bet the Vancouver Canucks' team total under 2.5 (+130) and under 1.5 (+375) - they were shut out in Winnipeg - then you had yourself quite a night.

There are only two games on Wednesday, but with countless game bets and props at our disposal, there's plenty available for us to extend our winning run.

GOATs and scapegoats

How about the season Dominik Kubalik is having? The 24-year-old rookie from the Czech Republic tallied a pair of goals Tuesday to take his total to 18 on the season, bringing him to 28 points in 45 games. Not bad for a seventh-round pick.

His two goals helped the Chicago Blackhawks (-105) battle back from a 2-0 deficit to send the game to overtime, where Jonathan Toews took care of the rest to cash in our bet. That's seven goals in five games now for Kubalik - our GOAT of the night - and 10 points in his last six.

We're far less thankful for the Predators' special teams. Nashville went 0-3 on the power play and just 2-4 on the penalty kill in a 4-2 loss in Edmonton, killing our bet.

Wednesday's bets

Chicago Blackhawks (+160)

Are you kidding me with this line? The Blackhawks are a must-play based off principle alone. The Montreal Canadiens remain without Jonathan Drouin, Brendan Gallagher, and Joel Armia, and are starting Charlie Lindgren in net. The Habs are below .500 at home this season yet are -180 without All-Star goalie Carey Price in net? Come on. The Blackhawks are 7-1 in the second leg of back-to-backs this season and are a terrific value play in Montreal.

Corey Crawford over 28.5 saves (-115)

The Canadiens attempt more shots than any other team on home ice, averaging a league-high 36.6 per game. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks allow 36.9 per game on the road - also the most in the NHL. There should be plenty of rubber thrown the way of Corey Crawford, and with the Habs largely struggling to turn those shots into goals, he should comfortably get over this number.

Brayden Schenn over 0.5 assists (+145)

Unlike backing Schenn over 0.5 points at -154, we can get a significant return on this prop. The odds significantly lengthen for him to get an assist, of which he has seven in his past five home games. He's only scored six times in 24 games at the Enterprise Center, but has 13 assists.

Best bet

St. Louis Blues team total over 3.5 (-110)

The Blues have won nine straight on home ice and have scored at least four goals in seven of those games. It's hard to see them slowing down against a Flyers team struggling defensively of late, especially on the road, where they've allowed at least four goals in eight of their last nine games. They've also conceded at least five goals in their last four away from home, so sprinkle a little extra on the Blues' team total over 4.5 (+220).

Trend of the night

The Blackhawks have won five straight games in Montreal, limiting the Canadiens to just four goals and twice shutting them out.

This trend dates as far back as 2014, so it's hard to put too much stock into it, but we said the same thing last night about the Canucks in Winnipeg and they got shut out. Crawford being in net for this game hurts a bit, but you can get a great price on the Canadiens to score under 2.5 goals (+220) and under 1.5 goals (+575).

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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