Chicago Blackhawks vs Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction, Preview and Odds - 10/16/2021

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Saturday, October 16, 2021

Venue:  PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA

Where to Watch:  NHL Network

Chicago Blackhawks:  Moneyline:  Blackhawks +110, Penguins -130; Over/Under:  NL goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Blackhawks +110, Penguins -130; Over/Under:  6 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Blackhawks +120, Penguins -145; Over/Under:  6 goals

 

Chicago Blackhawks: 0-1-0 (6th place, Central Division)

Pittsburgh Penguins:  1-0-1 (1st place, Metropolitan Division)

 

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Chicago Blackhawks:  lost on the road on Oct. 13 against the Colorado Avalanche 4-2.

Pittsburgh Penguins:  lost on the road on Oct. 14 against the Florida Panthers in overtime 5-4.

 

 

 

The Blackhawks are coming into this game with 0 points and a 0-1-0 record to start their season. They still have a game on Friday night of their schedule against the New Jersey Devils that has not been played yet. This will be the 2nd game of a back-to-back they are playing on Saturday night against the Penguins. The Blackhawks played in 6 preseason games and they came away with 3 wins in those games. They lost their first game of the season against the Avalanche on Wednesday night 4-2 in a game where they dug themselves into a hole going down 3-1 in the 1st period. Dominik Kubalik and Connor Murphy each scored 1 goal in that game while Henrik Borgstrom and Ian Mitchell both had 1 assist each. They all led the team in points in that game with 1 each. Kirby Dach led the team in shots on goal with 5 in that game. Marc-Andre Fleury was the starting goaltender in that one and he allowed 4 goals on 36 shots with 32 saves and a .889 save percentage. They have a lot of veterans on their team and previous Stanley Cup winners but their team is getting older and that may affect the way they play in this 2nd leg of the back-to-back.

 

 

The Penguins are coming into this game with 3 points and a 1-0-1 record to start their NHL season off. They have already played in 2 games in this regular season and they won their season opener against the Lightning on Tuesday, but they lost their last game against the Panthers in OT on Thursday night. After starting their season on a 2 game road trip, they will be returning home for this game which will be their home opener on Saturday night. Jeff Carter and Kris Letang both led the team in points in their last game with 2 each. Carter along with Jake Guentzel, Danton Heinen, and Evan Rodrigues all scored 1 goal each in that game. Letang led the team in assists with 2 in that one while Carter, Mark Friedman, Kasperi Kapanen, John Marino, Dominik Simon, and Jason Zucker all had 1 assist each. Guentzel, Carter, and Rodrigues all got involved the most in this offense with 9, 8, and 7 shots on goal each respectively. Casey DeSmith was the starting goalie for them and he allowed 5 goals on 39 shots with 34 saves and a .872 save percentage. The Penguins have started their season off well with a win over the defending Stanley Cup Champions and then still getting a point off of the Panthers in their loss. Now they travel home for their first home game of the new season and they will be looking to get that win back that they did not get in Florida. 

 

 

The Penguins are coming into this game as a favorite. They are rested coming into this game while the Blackhawks will be playing on a back-to-back. Fleury will be returning to the city that he spent many years playing in but this time he is returning with a much worse team than the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Penguins will make sure they defeat Chicago in their home opener here so the best bet to make in this game is on the Penguins to win.

 

Blackhawks Penguins Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Saturday, October 16, 2021 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Penguins 3 Blackhawks 1.

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Chicago Blackhawks: 60-76 (-6.6 units) ATS in all games. 19-28 (-0.3 units) ATS in a road game where where the total is 6 or more.

Pittsburgh Penguins: 81-56 (+5.7 units) ATS in all games. 33-14 (+10.5 units) ATS in a home game where the total is 6 or more.

 

 

Chicago Blackhawks:  C. Jones (D) Out indefinitely - Wrist injury. A. Regula (D) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed injury. W. Kalynuk (D) Out indefinitely - Ankle injury.

Pittsburgh Penguins:  B. Rust (RW) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. Z. Aston-Reese (LW) Ques Sat - Illness. M. Matheson (D) Ques Sat - Lower Body injury. E. Malkin (C) Out indefinitely - Knee injury. S. Crosby (C) Late Oct - Wrist injury.

 

 

Chicago Blackhawks: Marc-Andre Fleury is one player to watch in this matchup. He is returning to Pittsburgh with a new team, his first time back playing for the Blackhawks. He allowed 4 goals in their first game but he is a much better goalie than that and he will want to step his game up, especially in this building against this team. Look for him to play well here and make it very difficult for the Penguins to score in this game.

 

Pittsburgh Penguins: Kris Letang is one player to watch in this contest. He is a defenseman and he leads his team in points this season. He has had points in both games now and leads his team in assists as he is setting up the goals. Look for him to continue being a good playmaker here and set up a few more goals for them in this game.

 

 

“We got better as the game went on, but it’s hard to dig yourselves out of a hole. We need to be better. We will be better. We’ve got good players and the stuff that happened is very correctable.” - Jeremy Colliton after his team’s loss to the Avalanche in their season opener.

 

“All in all, I think it's a great start for us." - Jeff Carter after their OT loss to the Panthers in their last game, still collecting a point in that one.

 

 

LW DeBrincat, Alex

C Johnson, Tyler

RW Kane, Patrick

LD De Haan, Calvin

RD Jones, Seth

G Fleury, Marc-André

 

LW Guentzel, Jake

C Carter, Jeff

RW Rust, Bryan

LD Dumoulin, Brian

RD Letang, Kris

G DeSmith, Casey

 

Points: C.Murphy (1)

Goals: C.Murphy (1)

Assists: H.Borgstrom (1)

GAA: M.Fleury (4.24)

 

Points: K.Letang (4)

Goals: E.Rodrigues (2)

Assists: K.Letang (4)

GAA: T.Jarry (2.00)

 

Coaches:

Chicago Blackhawks: Jeremy Colliton (4th season)

Pittsburgh Penguins: Mike Sullivan (7th season)