Two of the least-penalized clubs in the league, the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues meet at the Scottrade Center for a Central Division showdown. The match gets underway at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 4 and it’s being televised live on NBC Sports Network.
Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis Blues Odds
With a moneyline of -245, St. Louis comes into the matchup as the heavy favorite. The line for Chicago sits at +205 and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
The Blues are 43-36 straight up (SU) and have lost 1.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. That early-season winning percentage hasn’t moved much from the 46-36 record the team posted during last year’s regular season campaign. Out of the team’s 79 regular season contests, 46 of them have gone under the total, while 32 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team is 24-16 SU at home this year.
St. Louis has converted on just 15.4 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that places the team in the bottom- overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 18th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.9 percent of all penalties.
As a team, St. Louis has been penalized just 3.3 times per game overall this season, and 2.2 per game over its past ten games. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 5.2 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
With a .907 save percentage and 24.7 saves per game, Jake Allen (27-30-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Blues this year. If the Blue Notes decide to give him the night off, however, the team might turn to Carter Hutton (17-14-14 record, .930 save percentage, 2.13 goals against average).
Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko will both look to continue their strong seasons for the Blues. Schenn (65 points) is up to 26 goals and 39 assists and has recorded two or more points 14 times this year. Tarasenko has 32 goals and 32 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 42 contests.
On the other side of the rink, Chicago is 32-47 straight up (SU) and has lost 20.1 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 79 regular season contests, 39 of its games have gone under the total, while 36 have gone over and just four have pushed. Chicago’s 14-25 SU as an away team this season.
Chicago has converted on just 15.9 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that places it in the bottom-five overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 22nd overall and it’s successfully defended 78.6 percent of all penalties.
Chicago’s players have been penalized 3.4 times per game in total this season, and 4.0 per game over their last five on the road. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 5.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Anton Forsberg (2.97 goals against average and .908 save percentage) has been the main option in goal for Chicago. Forsberg is averaging 23.9 saves per game and owns an 11-24-4 record.
For the visiting Blackhawks, the offense will be facilitated by Patrick Kane, who has 47 assists and 27 goals this season.
Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis Blues Free Picks
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Chicago is 1-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while St. Louis is 3-0 in shootouts.
- The total has gone over in three of St. Louis’ last five outings.
- St. Louis has averaged 2.7 goals per game (overall) this year, but is averaging 1.7 goals per contest on its three-game losing streak.
- Over Chicago’s last ten games, eight of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 3-5 in those games).
- The Blue Notes this season have registered the 10th-most hits per game (23.0).
