NHL Game 7 Preview: Los Angeles Kings at Chicago Blackhawks
With their 4-3 victory on Friday night, the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks forced a decisive Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals. We’re previously written about game 7 betting trends, and our research has indicated that road underdogs tend to be undervalued. That trend appears to be continuing in tonight’s game.
According to our NHL betting trends, the Blackhawks opened as -155 favorites at CRIS and are currently receiving 56% of moneyline bets. Despite receiving more than half of public bets, Chicago has dropped from -155 to -141. Although we typically consider reverse line movement to occur when teams are receiving less than 35% of moneyline bets, it does seem that once again sharp money is backing the visiting Kings.
The line graph below displays the line movement at CRIS since opening on Saturday morning:
It’s certainly been an interesting road to this point for Los Angeles. After their Game 4 victory gave them a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Kings were listed as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup:
Updated NHL Futures: (via Bovada) #Kings -110 #Rangers +140 #Blackhawks +800 #Canadiens +1800
— SportsInsights.com (@SportsInsights) May 27, 2014
However, just a month prior the Kings trailed the San Jose Sharks 3-0 and were on the verge of elimination. Although they were ultimately able to win four straight games to take the series, Los Angeles was a massive long-shot to hoist the Stanley Cup:
#Kings were +10000 to win the Stanley Cup when they were down 3 games to none to San Jose, but are now just +250: pic.twitter.com/NIOsQIuGuj — SportsInsights.com (@SportsInsights) May 23, 2014
We will continue to monitor betting trends as game time approaches, but we’re interested in your input. Who do you think will win tonight’s game? Will either team be able to knock off Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers next round? Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below.
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Sal
06/01/2014 at 4:27 pmKings have that experience … They seem content in game 7’s on the road. The key for them is SCORING first and STOPPING Kane! Hawks no doubtedly OWN Quick but if that D doesn’t let him get screened all night Quick should play better than the last two games. It seems like the whole world is on the Hawks… Making my decision among a few others to Ride the Kings into Infamy on their history making season!!