Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs meet in NHL action Saturday
Saturday will see two of the original six teams square off as the Chicago Blackhawks travel to Toronto to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup championship but they have fallen back in NHL Odds to 30-1 to repeat this season, while Toronto is among the longshots at 150-1.
As the season continues to wind down, both the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs are fighting for their respective playoff lives. Chicago currently sits in fifth place in the highly competitive Western Conference, but is only three points ahead of being out of the playoffs completely.
Toronto on the other hand has a little bit more work to do in the remaining month of the season. Right now Toronto is four points behind Carolina for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. With such a small margin of error, the remaining games for both of these teams are going to be crucial if either hopes to make the playoffs.
Chicago’s struggles this year have been somewhat of a surprise as the defending Stanley Cup champs have had their struggles keeping pucks out of their own net. However, a recent five game winning streak has seen the Blackhawks get back into the playoff picture and look poised to make another deep playoff run.
The Maple Leafs have exceeded expectations a bit this season by finding themselves in the hunt for the playoffs this year. Last year the team really struggled and many people did not figure Toronto would be in the playoff race this late into the season.
However, if the Maple Leafs want to climb into the playoff picture they will need to break a mini two game slump and start accumulating as many points as possible as the season winds down. The game against Chicago on Saturday will provide Toronto an excellent opportunity to do just that.
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