On Sunday afternoon the Detroit Red Wings will skate into Chicago to face the Blackhawks in what could be a potential first round playoff matchup.
In NHL Odds and NHL Betting, Detroit is at 8-1 to win the Stanley Cup. In NHL free picks the Blackhawks are at 18-1.
For both teams this game will actually be the second of a home and home series to close out the 2010-2011 regular season. When it comes to playoff berths and seeding surprisingly, with only two games remaining for both clubs there is still a lot left to be decided.
With a crucial victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night, Chicago helped its chances of making the playoffs again this year. With four points ahead of Dallas who is in ninth place and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, that overtime victory puts the Blackhawks in seventh place in the Western Conference. During the weekend series with Detroit, Chicago will really help secure its playoff status with at least one point.
After winning the Central Division last weekend On the other hand, the Red Wings are already locked into a playoff position. The Red Wings have made the postseason for a record twenty years in a row with this year’s playoff berth. In all of the four major sports this streak is also the longest streak for any team.
Detroit still has a chance to jump into the number two seed in the Western Conference, while the Red Wings are gearing up for another long playoff run. In the standings, currently the Red Wings trail San Jose by one point. The Red Wings will need to try their best to win these last two remaining games against Chicago over the weekend if they would like to secure home ice for the first two rounds. In Stanley Cup betting lines the Detroit Red Wings are favorite to win this match.