Thankfully, the NHL is back in business after the interminable break for the Winter Olympics.  No more of the unctuous Bob Costas, figure skating and events on tape delay. More importantly, we can get back down to business with our work of NHL hockey betting.  Detroit and Colorado played on Monday night, but most of the NHL teams are getting back in the swing of things on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we’ll look to a game between the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders for our first hockey betting position of the stretch run.

It is important to tread lightly in the first few games following the Olympic break, as judging from previous years some teams react differently to the layoff than others.  Some lose momentum, while some benefit from the rest and come out playing their best hockey of the year.  We’ll try to stick with a simple concept in this play.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS VS. NEW YORK ISLANDERS:

The Chicago Blackhawks went into their Olympic break trying to keep pace with the San Jose Sharks in the West and hoping to stay within sight of the Washington Capitals in the East.  They pretty much succeeded on both counts, and will resume play just 2 points back of San Jose and 3 back of Washington.  We’ve talked a lot about the Blackhawks this year, since after a slow start on the offensive end of the eyes they’ve finally got their scoring in gear and now rank at the top of both the offensive and defensive stats.  They’re ranked #1 in goals per game against, while they’re #3 in goals per game scored.  The Islanders, meanwhile, rank near the bottom of both catagories.

The Blackhawks went Over the total in three straight heading into break, while the Islanders went Over in 4 of their last 6.  9 of the last 15 meetings between the teams have gone Over the total, and we look for the Blackhawks to come out strong after the break and will have their way with a defensively porous Islander team.

PLAY NEW YORK ISLANDERS/CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS OVER 5′ -110