Well, finally, we’re off Schneid in last night’s basketball court victory.
Now we’re back to the coolest game on the planet with an over/under call in a matchup between the Utah Hockey Club and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Interestingly, these two central division rivals engaged in the final two seconds of minor trade before today’s deadline. The Blackhawks have won contracts for several young people and retired defender Shea Weber in exchange for handling their fifth pick for Utah.
Chicago also made the move early in the day, shipping former start goalkeeper Petr Murazek and center Craig Smith to Detroit for Joe Veleno.
Overall, the rebuilt Blackhawks have made several deals this month, with one of their latest additions going to be the forefront and center of this total tonight. New goaltender Spencer Knight is between the pipes as the organization acquired from Florida last week pushes to win the starting job after settling on the second violin behind Sergei Bobrovsky.
Knight made his Blackhawks debut against the Los Angeles Kings Monday evening. He was incredible, stopping 41 of his 42 shots to win a 5-1 victory.
While he was still with the Panthers, Knight is considered one of the best backup goalkeepers in the game, and if he has the opportunity to start regularly, he can claim he is on the brink of escape. His story is one of perseverance, and as he left his former team in February 2023, Fighting against obsessive-compulsive disorder. He missed last season too.
When he returned to the NHL this year, the Knights were great, averaging 2.34 goals and .912 save percentage, 13-8-1. That GAA ranked him within the league’s top five, and he also notched a pair of shutouts.
The previous first-round pick will have a strong opportunity for Encore as Utah ranks 22nd among all 32 clubs with 2.82 goals per game.
Meanwhile, Karel Vezimerka has gotten off to another Utah start, marking a rare back-to-back for the 28-year-old netminder. He played last night with the Hockey Club’s victory over the Red Wings, closing the door with 38 of his 40 shots.
Vejmelka has enjoyed the best years of his four-year career, holding a 17-16-4 record with a 2.44 GAA and .912 save rate. Most notably, this was his first time with a victory record of over .500, and he was very impressive. I only paid him on a five-year contract. Expansion after last night’s match.
Perhaps the new deal will offer a bit of extra juice to Vejmelka’s performance tonight.
He has the right opponent to celebrate. Chicago was once again caught up in a tough campaign, sitting in one place from Western Conference sellers, with fewer shots per game (24.6) than any other team in the league.
Pick: Less than 6 (-110, betmgm)
NHL Bet Records: 31-24-3, +1.9 units
Over/Under: 18-18-3
Goalkeeper Props: 13-6
Each bet is rated as if you were to win one unit.
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