Stanley Cup Semifinal Series Odds: Chicago vs. Detroit

A team, that saw their 2013 National Hockey League quarterfinal series get pushed to seven games, battles a team that cruised through their Round One battle, as the third Stanley Cup semifinal series opens tonight.

Detroit is coming off a hard fought series win against Anaheim while Chicago is rested and ready after they needed just five games to knock off Minnesota. Puck drop is slated for 8:00 PM ET, on May 15, in Chicago.

Chicago Blackhawks: Cup Favorites face Original Six rivals

Since first battling on November 24, 1926, the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings have faced each other in NHL regular season action more than any other two clubs in National Hockey League history. Dating back to the 1985 NHL playoffs, this is the seventh time these clubs have meet in the postseason. Each side has three series wins apiece and winners share a 23-4 record.

After defeating Minnesota in five games, by a combined 17-7 final score, the Blackhawks have been home and cooling for six days now. Chicago swept Detroit 4-0 in their regular season series but three of those contests needed extra time and two were decided by shootouts. As the playoff record above indicates, these two clubs end their series quick and we see that trend continuing.

Detroit Red Wings: No rest after long cross-country series with the Ducks

Following an exhaustive opening round seven game series against the Anaheim Ducks, that saw the Red Wings log 11,755 air miles, Detroit gets to play a lot closer to home in their semifinal match-up against Chicago. If this Western Conference series goes the full seven games (it won’t) the Red Wings will only have to fly 1,378.2 miles between the Motor City and the Windy City.

As they did versus the #2 seeded Ducks, the Wings will lean on Pavel Datsyuk, Henrick Zetterberg, and goaltender Jimmy Howard to knock off the #1 seeded Hawks. Howard was brilliant when he had to be during the Anaheim series. The first round wear and tear will take its toll on the Wings. Give us the Hawks with five bills invested to win the series with the -300 ML at bovada.lv!

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