Chicago Blackhawks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins odds: How to bet Connor Bedard’s debut
The National Hockey League is serving up a terrific headliner on Opening Night. Connor Bedard will make his NHL debut on Tuesday as his Chicago Blackhawks travel to Pittsburgh to take on Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
While expectations are astronomical for Bedard this season, his Blackhawks are projected to struggle, which is why they’re sitting as a +190 underdog in Pittsburgh.
There is a chance that Tuesday’s matchup between the Blackhawks and Penguins ends up as one of the most-bet regular season games of the entire NHL season. There’s no NFL, the only MLB Playoff game is Baltimore vs. Texas and the NBA is still a couple of weeks away. Throw in the fact that this will be the debut of a generational talent, and you have the recipe for a ton of betting action.
And it feels safe to say that a good chunk of that action will come in on Bedard to mark his debut with a goal.
The 18-year-old is +150 to score against Pittsburgh and even though that number certainly is watered down a bit, there’s a chance it ends up as one of the chalkiest player props all season. A lot of casual punters will be tuning in and want some action on the wunderkind from North Vancouver and the simplest way to do that is to back him to get on the scoresheet.
And while I fully acknowledge that the number to back Bedard isn’t great at face-value, I am still going to bet it for a couple of reasons. For one, I think the hype surrounding Bedard is going to be completely justified and he will be a legitimate first-line player right out of the gate.
He’s already being priced as one in this market, but that was always going to happen since bookmakers know they’re going to get a lopsided amount of action on Bedard to score in his debut.
Secondly, I think this matchup really plays into Bedard’s hands. He’s got an elite shot and is terrific in transition, which should suit him in what will likely be a back-and-forth affair.
Chicago will struggle to defend all season and the Penguins should have plenty of opportunities, but that should cause this game to go off the rails a bit and open up space for a player like Bedard to create opportunities.
The Penguins ranked 19th in goals allowed per game last season and were 22nd in expected goals against at 5-on-5, so it’s not like Bedard is going to have too much trouble finding space on Tuesday night.
Bedard to score (+150), Chicago Blackhawks +200 or better
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