Stanley Cup Final Game 2 Preview: Flyers at Blackhawks

The Stanley Cup Final continues on Monday night in Chicago with the Blackhawks looking to take a commanding 2-0 series lead (8:05 p.m. ET, NBC). Chicago won a wild opening game on Saturday night outscoring Philadelphia 6-5.

The game featured six lead changes and the most goals scored in a Game 1 since 1992, the last time Chicago made it to the Final. Right winger Tomas Kopecky netted the game winner for the Hawks in the third period.

Chicago is listed as a -200 favorite for Game 2 and the total is set at 6 at
SBG Global.

This series was supposed to be about stellar goaltending, but Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton struggled and was pulled in the second period after giving up five goals on 20 shots. He was replaced by backup Brian Boucher.

Chicago’s Antti Niemi wasn’t great either but he made the big stops in the third period when the game was on the line.

The Flyers may end up regretting Game 1 after having let a great opportunity slip away. Philadelphia managed to shutdown Chicago’s top line of Jonathaw Toews, Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien. The trio were terrible combining for no points, five shots and a minus-9 in the game.

On the bright side for Chicago, the Blackhawks showed they could win without their top line contributing and without powerplay opportunities – the Flyers didn’t get called for a single penalty in the game.

Here are some key NHL betting stats for Monday’s game:

The Flyers are 4-1 in their last five Monday games. The Flyers are 5-11 in their last 16 games as a road underdog.

The Blackhawks are 7-0 in their last seven Monday games. The Blackhawks are 42-16 in their last 58 games as a home favorite.

The home team is 4-0 in the last four meetings between the two teams and the favorite is 4-1 in the last five meetings.

Looking at the total, the over is 5-2 in the Flyers’ last seven overall. The over is 8-3-2 in the Blackhawks’ last 13 overall.

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