Chicago vs Edmonton Prediction 12 January 2025

🔊 Can the "Blackhawks" challenge one of the Western Conference leaders? Chicago has changed its head coach but continues to sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. The club can already write off this season. Edmonton, on the other hand, remains among the Western leaders but suffered a disappointing setback in their last game. The Canadian players urgently need to overcome this failure with another victory.

📊 Head-to-Head

In the current regular season, the opponents have already faced each other. In mid-October, the "Oilers" were in crisis and couldn't put up a worthy fight against the "Blackhawks" on their home ice in Alberta. The most productive player in that encounter was Chicago forward Teuvo Teravainen. The Finn recorded a brace and an assist. The player is still in excellent form, having scored points in three of the last four matches.

🔴 Chicago

The current season for the "Blackhawks" can confidently be considered another failure. The club is firmly entrenched at the bottom of the West and is preparing for another big sell-off. Although initial plans and summer free-agent signings suggested a completely different direction of development. Nevertheless, current results have led the team to their now familiar last place in the Western Conference. In the previous eight matches, Anders Sorensen's squad suffered six defeats, managing to score points only in clashes with Montreal (4:2) and Colorado (3:1). There are no prospects for the club this year.

🔵 Edmonton

The "Oilers" stumbled in their last match against Pittsburgh (3:5), but overall, the club's results clearly indicate a solid level of play from the players from Alberta. Edmonton occupies sixth place in the West and is quite capable of challenging the conference leaders soon. The team's star-studded offense consistently troubles all league goaltenders, regularly bringing individual and team points. The upcoming opponent is unlikely to put up worthy resistance.

🔗 Projected Lineups

Chicago: Mrazek - Kaiser, Jones - Bertuzzi, Bedard, Mikheyev

Edmonton: Skinner - Ekholm, Bouchard - Nugent-Hopkins, McDavid, Hyman

🥅 Goalkeepers

Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek triumphantly returned to the "Blackhawks" starting lineup and defeated Colorado (97.2%), but in the very next match against his former club, Detroit, he had a glaring failure, allowing several costly mistakes (85.2%). It's hard to believe in a bright future for this netminder in the "Windy City."

Edmonton's goaltender Stuart Skinner, after a long series of successful matches and deserved victories, had a collapse in Pennsylvania. The local Pittsburgh forced the Canadian to capitulate five times on 26 shots on goal. The Alberta native once again experienced a significant slump at the most inopportune moment.

📝 Editorial Prediction

It's hard to believe in serious problems for the visitors in achieving an acceptable result. The "Blackhawks" in their current form and state do not pose a serious threat to the finalist of the last Stanley Cup playoffs. The defeat in the last game will only add motivation to the "Oilers," prompting them to focus and quickly overcome the setback. Our key bet is Edmonton's victory in regulation time.