The Enterprise Center plays host to an intriguing showdown as the Arizona Coyotes pay a visit to the St. Louis Blues. It’s the third and last time that the two clubs will go at it in the regular season. This Western Conference matchup will get underway at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 20 and it’ll air live on Fox Sports Arizona.
Arizona Coyotes vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
Arizona (+165) is currently the underdog to St. Louis (-190), and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-130 for the under, +110 for the over).
The Blues are 33-27 straight up (SU) and have not been kind to moneyline bettors (returning -1.7 units) thus far. That win percentage, ranked third in the Central Division so far this season, is right in line with what the team produced during the 2018-19 season (45-37). Of the team’s 60 games this season, 30 have gone over the total, while 28 have gone under and just two have pushed. Thus far, the team is 19-11 SU at home.
St. Louis has been able to convert on 24.3 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s good enough for fifth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 17th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.0 percent of all penalties.
St. Louis, as a collective unit, has been penalized just 3.4 times per game overall this season, and 4.6 per game over its past five match ups. The team’s had to stave off opposition power plays for just 8.2 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
Averaging 26.3 saves per game with a .910 save percentage, Jordan Binnington (25-18-7) has been the principal option in goal for the Blues this year. If head coach Craig Berube decides to give him a breather, however, the team may roll with Jake Allen (8-12-12 record, .922 save percentage, 2.36 goals against average).
David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly will each lead the way for the Blues. Perron (56 points) is up to 23 goals and 33 assists and has recorded two or more points 11 times this year. O’Reilly has 10 goals and 41 assists to his credit and has notched a point in 33 contests.
On the other hand, Arizona is 30-33 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 35 of its contests have gone under the total, while 26 have gone over and just one has pushed. Arizona’s 15-18 SU as the road team this season.
Arizona has converted on 19.4 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 eighth overall and it’s successfully killed off 82.8 percent of all penalties.
Arizona’s players have been called for penalties only 3.1 times per game in total this season, 3.0 per game over their last five games total, and 3.6 per game over their last five on the road. The team has had to kill penalties just 6.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Antti Raanta (.919 save percentage and 2.70 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Arizona. Raanta is averaging 27.9 saves per game and owns a 13-17-3 record.
Taylor Hall (15 goals, 33 assists) has been one of the top playmaking threats for the visiting Coyotes.
Arizona Coyotes vs. St. Louis Blues Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The under has hit in each of Arizona’s last five games.
- Power plays and penalty kills could be critical in the outcome of this matchup. The Coyotes are 10-18 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 24-28 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Blues are 14-7 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 26-18 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- St. Louis is 1-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while Arizona is 5-4 in shootouts.
- St. Louis skaters have created 8.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a slight drop from its season average of 7.7 takeaways per game (ranked 12th in the NHL).
- Arizona skaters have averaged 5.6 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 6.4 takeaways per game (ranked 26th).
- St. Louis could hold the upper hand if it’s a close one late. The team’s 14-12 in games decided by one goal, while Arizona is just 11-17 in such games.
