The Scottrade Center will play host to an East-West tilt as the New York Islanders take on the St. Louis Blues. It’s the last time that the two clubs will meet in the regular season. This one will get started at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 11 and it can be viewed live on MSG Plus 2.
New York Islanders vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
St. Louis (-175) is currently the favorite over New York (+155), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Earning 8.8 units for moneyline bettors, the Blues are 13-4 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 46-36 record from the 2016-17 season campaign. Among the team’s 17 games this season, eight have gone under the total, while eight have gone over and none have pushed. Thus far, the team is 7-1 SU at home.
St. Louis has converted on just 15.8 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s ranked 25th overall in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is rated 22nd overall, and it’s successfully killed off 78.9 percent of all penalties.
As a team, St. Louis has been called for penalties just 3.7 times per game overall this season, and 3.0 per game over its last five home outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays for just 5.6 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
Averaging 27.7 saves per game with a .921 save percentage, Jake Allen (9-4-1) has been the best goalkeeper for the Blues this season. If head coach Mike Yeo chooses to rest him, however, the Blue Notes may roll with the undefeated Carter Hutton (4-0 record, .946 save percentage, 1.72 goals against average).
Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko will each be focal points for the Blues. Schwartz (21 points) has tallied nine goals and 12 assists and has recorded multiple points six times this year. Tarasenko has eight goals and 12 assists to his name and has recorded a point in 12 contests.
On the other side of the ice, New York is 8-7 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 0.7 units this season. A total of nine of its games have gone over the total, while six have gone under and none have pushed. As the visiting team so far, New York is 3-5 SU.
New York has converted on 21.2 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 12th overall and it’s successfully killed off 82.0 percent of all penalties.
New York’s players have been penalized only 3.8 times per game this season, a number that’s up a bit from the 3.4 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 7.9 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 8.1 minutes per outing this season.
Jaroslav Halak (25.8 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for New York. Halak has five wins and four losses to his credit, and has registered a .906 save percentage and 2.83 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Islanders, the offense will be coordinated by Josh Bailey (three goals, 15 assists) and John Tavares (12 goals, six assists).
New York Islanders at St. Louis Blues Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Under
Betting Notes:
- The total has gone under in three of St. Louis’ last five games.
- Power plays and penalty kills may be critical tonight. The Islanders are 3-3 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 4-5 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total. The Blues are 4-2 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 9-3 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- New York is 1-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while St. Louis is 2-0 in shootouts.
- St. Louis is ranked 16th overall with 7.9 takeaways per game. That figure has trended higher lately, as it has created 9.8 takeaways over its last 10 games and 10.6 takeaways over its last five.
- St. Louis could hold an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 5-2 in games decided by one goal, while New York is 1-5 in such games.
