{"id":484151,"date":"2026-02-28T07:50:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T12:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=484151"},"modified":"2026-02-27T23:58:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T04:58:43","slug":"nhl-predictions-february-28-chicago-blackhawks-colorado-avalanche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/02\/28\/nhl-predictions-february-28-chicago-blackhawks-colorado-avalanche\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: February 28, Chicago Blackhawks vs Colorado Avalanche"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks <\/a>continue their road trip by taking on the Colorado Avalanche<\/a>.\u00a0Welcome back to a post-Olympic edition of NHL Predictions! Each day, our writers here at <\/span>Last Word On Hockey <\/em>analyze the day\u2019s games and provide in-depth analysis. We break down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then make predictions based on how they might play out. Don\u2019t forget to check out more NHL Predictions, as our writers continue this series throughout the 2025-26 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

NHL Predictions: Chicago Blackhawks vs Colorado Avalanche<\/h3>\n

Time:\u00a0<\/strong>6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

Season Series:\u00a0<\/strong>Colorado Leads 1-0-0<\/p>\n

How to Watch<\/a> TV:\u00a0<\/strong>ESPN+, CHSN, ALT<\/h3>\n

Location:\u00a0<\/strong>Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.<\/p>\n

Connor Bedard<\/a> and the Chicago Blackhawks travel to Denver to take on Nathan MacKinnon<\/a> and the league-leading Colorado Avalanche.<\/p>\n

These two teams faced off back in November, with the Avs earning the 1-0 victory. As you would expect, the game was fairly low-event. Colorado managed 26 shots to Chicago’s 22. Spencer Knight<\/a> played well against the league’s best team, while Scott Wedgewood<\/a> earned the shutout. Superstar defenceman Cale Makar<\/a> netted the lone goal in the second period, with Tristen Nielsen<\/a> earning his first career point. All things considered, the Hawks put forth a great effort against the best team in the league. The Hawks are looking for a repeat effort with some better results in this one.<\/p>\n

Blackhawks Shooting for First Win Since Olympic Break<\/h3>\n

The Hawks were hoping for some better results than what they earned Thursday night in Nashville. The team lost 4-2, but had a lead early in the third period. The bright spot from this game is the offensive production from Chicago’s top players. Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi<\/a> netted Chicago’s two goals, with Bertuzzi’s coming on the power play, a unit that had really struggled prior to the break. Teuvo Teravainen<\/a> and Sam Rinzel<\/a> collected helpers on the man advantage, while Ryan Greene<\/a> assisted Bedard’s tally. Spencer Knight stopped 22 shots, but the Hawks deserved a better fate than they were given.<\/p>\n

Frankly, it is going to take a lot for the Hawks to knock off the Avalanche. Chicago’s scoring woes have been evident for some time, and some key players have especially struggled. Most notable is Frank Nazar<\/a>, who missed significant time with an injury. Even so, he has just two goals since Halloween despite being considered one of the Hawks’ top players. Ryan Donato<\/a>, Jason Dickinson<\/a> and Ilya Mikheyev<\/a> played well but failed to net a goal. It is going to take an all-around team effort to knock off the Avs. With tonight’s game being the first of a back-to-back, the starting netminder is still up in the air.\u00a0Be\u00a0sure to <\/span>check social media before puck drop for lineups and starting goaltender information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Avalanche Hoping to Extend League Lead in Points<\/h3>\n

The Avs split their doubleheader against Utah and Minnesota coming out of the break. Predictably, the big guns have come out to play. Martin Necas<\/a> has four points in those games, while Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog<\/a> also have multiple points in those games. Parker Kelly<\/a> has also stepped up with a goal and an assist. In the net, Scott Wedgewood<\/a> and Mackenzie Blackwood<\/a> have each seen the net. Wedgewood collected the win, while Blackwood registered a loss. It is undetermined who gets the net tonight.<\/p>\n

From the backend, Cale Makar has continued to play at an elite level, while the emergence of Sam Malinski<\/a> has done wonders for the backend. Colorado acquired Brett Kulak<\/a> to bolster the blueline. With all the talent on the roster, the Avs have hit a bit of a skid in their last ten. They sit at 4-5-1 in that span and are looking to get back to their dominant ways. A win against the Hawks would go a long way.<\/p>\n

Game Prediction<\/h3>\n

There is no denying the talent that Colorado has. Chicago has an uphill battle ahead of it in altitude, so expect the Avs to pull out the win.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Avalanche win 4-2<\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bets<\/h3>\n

We like a couple of goal scorers in this one. For the Hawks, Connor Bedard at +200 is nice value. For the Avs, we like Brock Nelson<\/a> at +180.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Melissa Tamez\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks continue their road trip by taking on the Colorado Avalanche.\u00a0Welcome back to a post-Olympic edition of NHL Predictions! Each day, our writers here at Last Word On Hockey analyze the day\u2019s games and provide in-depth analysis. We break down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then make predictions based on how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5245,"featured_media":125385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27,28,4547,4548,4524],"tags":[6233,6085,4756,77],"class_list":["post-484151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blackhawks","category-avalanche","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-chicago-blackhawks-predictions","tag-colorado-avalanche-predictions","tag-connor-bedard","tag-nathan-mackinnon"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484151"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":484172,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484151\/revisions\/484172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}