The Anaheim Ducks will be in Windy City tonight to face the Chicago Blackhawks. The Ducks will be looking to build on their win Sunday night against the San Jose Sharks, while the Blackhawks are simply hoping to avoid losing their third game in a row. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NHL odds series, which includes our Ducks-Blackhawks prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.

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Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Ducks-Blackhawks odds:

NHL odds: Ducks-Blackhawks Odds

Ducks: +1.5 (-265) (+104 ML)

Blackhawks: -1.5 (+210) (-125 ML)

Over: 6.0 (-105)

Under: 6.0 (-105)

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Why the Ducks Could Cover the Spread

The Ducks are looking for some consistency when they take on Chicago later tonight. Anaheim is just 2-3 over the course of its past five games but is coming off a 3-2 overtime victory against the San Jose Sharks at home last Sunday. The Ducks scored the win despite not having All-Star netminder John Gibson, who sat out the Sharks game with a lower-body injury. Captain Ryan Getzlaf also missed the contest with a lower-body injury as well.

Their statuses for Tuesday’s meeting with Chicago are up in the air as of this writing, but at least if Gibson can’t give it a go, the Ducks will be confident in backup goalie Anthony Stolarz’s ability to get the job done in front of the net. Stolarz stepped up in the absence of Gibson against the Sharks and turned away 20 of 22 shots, including two while the Ducks were shorthanded. Speaking of which, the Ducks have one of the stoutest defenses against the power play. They are eighth in the NHL so far this season with an 83.03 PK%. Anaheim’s last four opponents have mustered a grand total of…zero goals on 10 power play chances.

Conversely, the Ducks are among the best-scoring teams when given the chance to go on the man advantage, as they are sixth in the league with a 25.0 PP%. Another thing about the Ducks’ defense is that it’s so good in limiting opponents from getting high-danger looks. Per Hockey Reference, the Ducks have the fifth-fewest allowed high-danger goals (41) and are sixth-best in HDCO% (10.0). Tuesday seems to bring the best out of the Ducks, as Anaheim is 8-1 in its last nine games played on that day of the week.

Why the Blackhawks Could Cover the Spread

The Blackhawks are having a rough time. After getting wrecked by the Philadelphia 76ers in a 4-3 road loss last Saturday, Chicago lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning the following day, 6-3. But with a day of full rest, the Blackhawks should have the energy to put up a much better performance in tonight’s matchup against the Ducks. Plus, the Blackhawks have things going for them over the past handful of meetings with Anaheim.

Chicago has won all of its last four games at home against the Ducks. In addition to that, the Blackhawks are 5-0 over their past five most recent showdowns with Anaheim, and that includes their 3-0 victory at home against the Ducks last January. Marc-André Fleury was at his absolute best in that contest, rejecting all 37 shots he faced. His performance in the Lightning game was far cry from what he showed in the first meeting with the Ducks, but he should have a lighter workload this Tuesday.

For one, the Ducks are just 20th in the league in 5-on-5 CF% (48.6%) and 19th in terms of 5 on 5 shooting percentage (7.4%). On the season, Fleury is 17-20-4 with a 2.91 GAA and .908 SV% with four shutouts. As for their own offense, the Blackhawks are hoping that Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, and Dylan Strome remain hot after all three scored in the loss to the Lightning. Kane has five goals and four assists in the last five Blackhawks games; DeBrincat has three goals and four assists; Strome has three goals and two assists. Kane also had a goal while DeBrincat had a pair of assists in the January win against Anaheim.

Final Ducks-Blackhawks Prediction & Pick

I’m leaning on the Ducks to not just cover but win straight up. The puck line odds on Anaheim don’t look too enticing anyway. And with the Blackhawks being a very inaccurate team offensively (last in the NHL in shooting percentage) and among the worst on 5-on-5 opponents’ high-danger scoring percentage, I feel confident in the Ducks to get the W tonight in Chicago.

Final Ducks-Blackhawks Pick: Ducks (+104 ML)