by Chuck Sommers
Thursday, Mar 02, 2023
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Venue: United Center, Chicago, IL
Where to watch: BSSW, NBCSCH
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Stars -230, Blackhawks +195
FanDuel: Stars -245, Blackhawks +195
BetMGM: Stars -250, Blackhawks +200
Caesars: Stars -233, Blackhawks +192
Season record
Stars: 31-16-3
Blackhawks: 21-34-5
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Stars - Blackhawks preview, prediction and analysis
The Dallas Stars will be playing the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, March 2 in Chicago, Illinois.
The Dallas Stars won against the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, March 1 at American Airlines in Dallas, Texas with a score of 4-2. [Team 1] currently rank [place] in the [division] Division.
Tyler Seguin had two goals and an assist, Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen scored, and Jake Oettinger made 18 saves for the Stars (32-16-13).
"It's been muck and sometimes you can call it bad bounces, sometimes you can call it hot goalies, but tonight we really talked about no excuses," Seguin said. "Let's not leave here saying we hit a hot goalie or that we deserved to win. We had to execute and get the job down and stop this from going downhill. Played good in Vegas (in a 3-2 shootout win Saturday), played good enough to win tonight, now we're on a roll."
Barrett Hayton gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 10:28 of the first on a rebound from the slot. Clayton Keller made it 2-0 on the power play at 13:47 with Hayton screening Oettinger in the slot.
Hintz cut it to 2-1 at 18:43 of the first period, scoring from his knees at the bottom of the left face-off circle. Seguin tied it 2-2 on the power play at 1:50 of the second period with a one-timer from the left circle.
Heiskanen gave Dallas a 3-2 lead at 4:38 of the third period on a low shot that deflected off Arizona forward Christian Fischer.
"You can't really think about that, what's the score or are you down or up," Heiskanen said. "You just have to play our game and try to score a goal. You can't really think about, we're down 2-0 and now I start to do something else. Just stick to the plan."
Seguin scored a short-handed goal at 16:12 for the 4-2 final. He poked in a rebound off the goal line after Radek Faksa shot from the slot on a 2-on-1.
The Chicago Blackhawks lost against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday, February 28 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona with a score of 4-1. The Chicago Blackhawks currently rank 8th in the Central Division.
The Blackhawks (21-34-5) played shortly after trading forward Patrick Kane, the second-leading scorer in their history, to the New York Rangers in a three-team deal that included the Coyotes.
"Not feeling too great, but you've got to play through it," Chicago forward Philipp Kurashev said. "I think our execution just wasn't there. We didn't really play with a lot of emotion, and our compete wasn't there."
Alex Stalock made 29 saves for Chicago after missing 18 games since Jan. 14 with a head injury and vision problems. Andreas Athanasiou scored for the Blackhawks, who lost their second straight in as many days after winning five in a row.
"I thought we were just a little bit off, we didn't get the shot off or we didn't capitalize on our chances," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. "It just seemed like we were one beat off. Not to use tired as an excuse, but the guys just looked tired a little bit."
The Kane trade came a day after the Blackhawks traded defenseman Jake McCabe and center Sam Lafferty to the Toronto Maple Leafs before a 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.
"It's been a tough couple of days, not going to lie about that affecting us emotionally and psychologically," Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy said. "They all had such great seasons with us and they're impactful people for our [dressing] room and for our organization. We'll miss them and we'll try to regroup here with a new group of guys and build back up together."
Arizona scored four goals before Athanasiou scored the final goal of the game for Chicago with a score of 4-1.
The Chicago Blackhawks have won five of their last 10 games.
Prediction
There's something about the Blackhawks wanting to win at home in the first game post Kane. And to me, with the Stars on the second night of a back-to-back, this is good timing. Blackhawks 4, Stars 3
The Dallas Stars won against the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, March 1 at American Airlines in Dallas, Texas with a score of 4-2. [Team 1] currently rank [place] in the [division] Division.
Tyler Seguin had two goals and an assist, Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen scored, and Jake Oettinger made 18 saves for the Stars (32-16-13).
"It's been muck and sometimes you can call it bad bounces, sometimes you can call it hot goalies, but tonight we really talked about no excuses," Seguin said. "Let's not leave here saying we hit a hot goalie or that we deserved to win. We had to execute and get the job down and stop this from going downhill. Played good in Vegas (in a 3-2 shootout win Saturday), played good enough to win tonight, now we're on a roll."
Barrett Hayton gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 10:28 of the first on a rebound from the slot. Clayton Keller made it 2-0 on the power play at 13:47 with Hayton screening Oettinger in the slot.
Hintz cut it to 2-1 at 18:43 of the first period, scoring from his knees at the bottom of the left face-off circle. Seguin tied it 2-2 on the power play at 1:50 of the second period with a one-timer from the left circle.
Heiskanen gave Dallas a 3-2 lead at 4:38 of the third period on a low shot that deflected off Arizona forward Christian Fischer.
"You can't really think about that, what's the score or are you down or up," Heiskanen said. "You just have to play our game and try to score a goal. You can't really think about, we're down 2-0 and now I start to do something else. Just stick to the plan."
Seguin scored a short-handed goal at 16:12 for the 4-2 final. He poked in a rebound off the goal line after Radek Faksa shot from the slot on a 2-on-1.
The Chicago Blackhawks lost against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday, February 28 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona with a score of 4-1. The Chicago Blackhawks currently rank 8th in the Central Division.
The Blackhawks (21-34-5) played shortly after trading forward Patrick Kane, the second-leading scorer in their history, to the New York Rangers in a three-team deal that included the Coyotes.
"Not feeling too great, but you've got to play through it," Chicago forward Philipp Kurashev said. "I think our execution just wasn't there. We didn't really play with a lot of emotion, and our compete wasn't there."
Alex Stalock made 29 saves for Chicago after missing 18 games since Jan. 14 with a head injury and vision problems. Andreas Athanasiou scored for the Blackhawks, who lost their second straight in as many days after winning five in a row.
"I thought we were just a little bit off, we didn't get the shot off or we didn't capitalize on our chances," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. "It just seemed like we were one beat off. Not to use tired as an excuse, but the guys just looked tired a little bit."
The Kane trade came a day after the Blackhawks traded defenseman Jake McCabe and center Sam Lafferty to the Toronto Maple Leafs before a 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.
"It's been a tough couple of days, not going to lie about that affecting us emotionally and psychologically," Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy said. "They all had such great seasons with us and they're impactful people for our [dressing] room and for our organization. We'll miss them and we'll try to regroup here with a new group of guys and build back up together."
Arizona scored four goals before Athanasiou scored the final goal of the game for Chicago with a score of 4-1.
The Chicago Blackhawks have won five of their last 10 games.
Prediction
There's something about the Blackhawks wanting to win at home in the first game post Kane. And to me, with the Stars on the second night of a back-to-back, this is good timing. Blackhawks 4, Stars 3
Betting trends
Stars are 7-14 in the second half of the season.
Stars are 11-13 revenging a loss this season.
Blackhawks are 3-13 after a division game this season.
Blackhawks are 1-10 off a loss to a division rival this season.
Projected lines
Stars:
Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Joe Pavelski
Jamie Benn -- Wyatt Johnston -- Evgenii Dadonov
Mason Marchment -- Tyler Seguin -- Ty Dellandrea
Fredrik Olofsson -- Radek Faksa -- Fredrik Karlstrom
Miro Heiskanen -- Colin Miller
Esa Lindell -- Jani Hakanpaa
Ryan Suter -- Nils Lundkvist
Matt Murray
Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Joe Pavelski
Jamie Benn -- Wyatt Johnston -- Evgenii Dadonov
Mason Marchment -- Tyler Seguin -- Ty Dellandrea
Fredrik Olofsson -- Radek Faksa -- Fredrik Karlstrom
Miro Heiskanen -- Colin Miller
Esa Lindell -- Jani Hakanpaa
Ryan Suter -- Nils Lundkvist
Matt Murray
Blackhawks:
Philipp Kurashev -- Max Domi -- Andreas Athanasiou
Tyler Johnson -- Cole Guttman -- Taylor Raddysh
Brett Seney -- Jason Dickinson -- David Gust
Boris Katchouk -- Jujhar Khaira -- Joey Anderson
Caleb Jones -- Seth Jones
Jarred Tinordi -- Connor Murphy
Andreas Englund -- Ian Mitchell
Petr Mrazek
Philipp Kurashev -- Max Domi -- Andreas Athanasiou
Tyler Johnson -- Cole Guttman -- Taylor Raddysh
Brett Seney -- Jason Dickinson -- David Gust
Boris Katchouk -- Jujhar Khaira -- Joey Anderson
Caleb Jones -- Seth Jones
Jarred Tinordi -- Connor Murphy
Andreas Englund -- Ian Mitchell
Petr Mrazek
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Dallas Stars - Chicago Blackhawks prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NHL projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
