Saturday is the best night of the week for hockey with a loaded slate of action that will not disappoint. The marquee matchup of the night features the league’s most valuable franchise in the Toronto Maple Leafs taking on Canada’s rising star in Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.
For those following our Pad Stack challenge, we began with a $10 bankroll and aim to grow it through smart, data-driven picks. Past runs have turned small stakes into triple-digit profits, and tonight’s focus is the Leafs-Hawks matchup, which offers another strong opportunity to build momentum.
Our bankroll reached as high as $264.60 earlier this season and we’re one win away from setting a new season high with our bank roll currently sitting at $257.17 with a loaded Saturday slate to pick from.
All betting lines are from BetMGM Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
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Picks: Blackhawks Over 2.5 Goals (-166)
The Leafs and Blackhawks have a history of high-scoring affairs with five or more goals in 14 straight matchups. This means we can expect some offense and that should come from the Blackhawks and star center Connor Bedard, who has goals in four straight games and currently rides nine-game point streak, totaling a stunning eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points.
The BC native is presenting his case to make Team Canada and will have a great chance to get his name in the conversation once again with a game-breaking performance on Saturday.
Toronto’s defense is tied for worst in the league this season with 69 goals against in 18 games, dying with the St. Louis Blues. They’re just getting back goaltender Joseph Woll, who didn’t look particularly deadly in his AHL stint with three goals allowed in each of his two starts against lesser competition.
The Blackhawks should be able to take advantage and build on a winning history in this matchup. Toronto has beat Chicago in the last two matchups but prior to that, the Blackhawks had won six of their previous nine matchups with Bedard not even playing a pivotal role.
Chicago’s 20-year-old phenom has just one assist in four career games versus Toronto and now with him hot, the Blackhawks should be able to push for a surprising upset on Hockey Night in Canada.
A wager on the Blackhawks offense at over 2.5 goals at -166 odds with an $257.17 bankroll would return a profit of $154.30, for a total payout of $411.47 in return. A safe pick but one that will hopefully get us to a new season high and closer than ever to the $1,000 bench mark.
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