Blackhawks v Avalanche tips: Can Chicago shock Colorado at the United Center?

The puck drops at United Center on Tue 3 Nov, 12:00 pm AEDT and it’s a tidy little mismatch on paper — the Colorado Avalanche roll in with the better record and the Blackhawks are scraping for wins. If you’re reading nhl predictions this week, this one’s all about contrasting styles: Chicago’s soft offence and porous goals-against numbers versus Colorado’s red-hot scoring in recent weeks.

Chicago sit 31st on the ladder (4-9-0, 8 points) and have struggled for offence all season, averaging 2.08 goals per game. Their last start was a narrow 4–5 loss at Boston, so they’re coming off a defeat and still hunting form. Home has been kinder at times — they beat the Kings 2–1 in their most recent home outing — but that’s a small sample against bigger issues defensively.

Colorado are up the other end of the ledger: listed 16th on the ladder in the pack data (7-5-1, 15 points) and averaging 4.15 goals per game. They arrive off a solid 5–2 home win over the Calgary Flames and have been putting the biscuit in the net at home, with a 5.3 goals-for average across their recent home sample.

This preview leans into the narrative — form, recent scoring and who profiles to control the game — before we land on a couple of practical tips for the win market and how to think about backing them on the day.

Who will win? The win-market case

Straight up, the market favours Colorado: the away price sits at 1.40 while Chicago is out at 2.95 on the win board. That price structure matches the season story — Colorado have been the better side all year and they’ve been especially potent at home over their last few starts.

FormLast5 tells the tale. Chicago’s last five: L 4–5 v Boston (A), L 1–4 v Detroit (A), W 2–1 v Los Angeles (H), L 2–3 v Florida (H), L 1–4 v Montreal (H). Their most recent result was the 4–5 loss at Boston, so they’re coming in off a defeat. Across those five outings they average 2.0 goals for and 3.4 against, a negative balance that’s hard to bottle into confidence.

Colorado’s last five reads W 5–2 v Calgary (H), W 5–2 v New Jersey (H), L 2–6 v Nashville (A), W 6–3 v Tampa Bay (H), L 3–4 v New Jersey (A). Their most recent result was the 5–2 home win over Calgary, so they arrive on a win and with far more firepower — 4.2 goals-for per game across the last five. That gulf in scoring (4.2 v 2.0 overall) is the cleanest stat to explain the market gap.

The venue split makes it more stark. Chicago’s recent home scoring sample shows 1.7 goals-for and 2.7 against, while Colorado’s home sample in the pack features 5.3 goals-for and 2.3 against. Put bluntly: Colorado have been averaging more than five goals per game at home in their recent sample, and Chicago have been struggling to get past two on their home sheet.

Putting the pieces together, Colorado look to be the safer play here — they’ve got the form, the goals and the momentum from their latest win. Chicago have flashes at United Center, but the season-long numbers (4-9-0, 27 goals for, 48 against) and the recent away loss make a big ask for an upset.