A couple of teams on two-game winning streaks, the New York Rangers and the St. Louis Blues clash at the Enterprise Center. This East-West matchup gets started at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 11, and it is being televised live on Fox Sports Midwest.
New York Rangers vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
St. Louis enters the game as the obvious favorite with a -205 moneyline. The line for New York now stands at +175. If you want to put some action on the matchup’s Over/Under (O/U) total, you’ll be looking at -120 for over 6 goals and +100 for under under..
The Blues are 28-17 straight up (SU) and have earned 7.5 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked third in the NHL so far this season, is an improvement compared to how the team performed during last year’s regular season (45-37). Among its 45 games this season, 22 have gone under the total, while 22 have gone over and none have pushed. The team’s 15-7 SU at home this year.
St. Louis has connected on 25.2 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s good enough for fourth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 11th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 81.7 percent of all penalties.
St. Louis, as a collective unit, has been called for penalties just 3.3 times per game overall this season, and 2.6 per game over its last five at home. The team’s had to stave off opposition power plays for just 7.2 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, in total.
With a .917 save percentage and 27.1 saves per game, Jordan Binnington (21-11-4) has been the best goalkeeper for the Blues this season. If they, however, choose to give him a breather, head coach Craig Berube could roll with Jake Allen (7-8-8 record, .924 save percentage, 2.36 goals against average).
David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly will each lead the charge for the Blues. Perron (45 points) has tallied 19 goals and 26 assists and has recorded two or more points nine times this year. O’Reilly has eight goals and 32 assists to his credit and has recorded a point in 25 contests.
On the visitors’ side of the ice, New York is 21-22 straight up (SU) and has earned 6.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. 21 of its matches have gone over the total, while an additional 21 have gone under the total and just one has pushed. New York’s 9-12 SU as the away team this season.
New York has converted on 20.4 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 20th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.2 percent of all opponent power plays.
New York’s skaters have been whistled for penalties 4.6 times per game this season, 4.4 per game over their past five contests total, and 5.0 per game over their last five games as the visiting team. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays 10.4 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
Henrik Lundqvist (3.10 goals against average and .910 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for New York. Lundqvist is averaging 29.3 saves per game and owns a 9-15-3 record.
For the visiting Rangers, the offense will run through Artemi Panarin, who’s got 37 assists and 24 goals on the year.
New York Rangers vs. St. Louis Blues Free Picks
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- For both of these clubs, the over has hit in three of their past five outings.
- Power-play opportunities may be critical tonight. The Rangers are 8-7 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 9-9 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Blues are 13-4 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 23-10 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- St. Louis is 0-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while New York is 0-2 in shootouts.
- St. Louis has averaged 9.8 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 7.7 takeaways per game (ranked 15th in the league).
- New York skaters have forced 7.0 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 8.2 takeaways per game (ranked ninth).
- St. Louis might hold an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 13-7 in games decided by one goal, while New York is 7-9 in such games.
