The Enterprise Center is playing host to an enticing showdown as the New York Islanders face off against the St. Louis Blues. It’s the last time that these two clubs will go at it in the regular season. Fox Sports Midwest will broadcast this East-West matchup, which gets underway at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 27.
New York Islanders vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
With a -170 moneyline, St. Louis enters the contest as the heavy favorite. The line for New York sits at +150, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-120 for the under, +100 for the over).
The Blues are 37-27 straight up (SU) and have earned 2.9 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, the third-best in the Central Division in this young season, isn’t too far off from to the 45-37 record the team posted during the 2018-19 season campaign. Among the team’s 64 games this season, 32 have gone over the total, while 30 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team is 21-11 SU at home this year.
St. Louis enters the matchup with the third-best power-play unit in the NHL, as the team has scored on 24.1 percent of their extra-man opportunities this year. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 18th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.0 percent of all penalties.
As a team, St. Louis has been penalized 3.4 times per game overall this season, and 4.2 per game over its last five at home. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays for just 8.4 minutes per game over its last five outings, overall.
Boasting a .911 save percentage and 26.2 saves per game, Jordan Binnington (28-18-7) has been the best option in goal for the Blues this season. If head coach Craig Berube decides to rest him, however, the Blue Notes may turn to Jake Allen (9-12-12 record, .923 save percentage, 2.29 goals against average).
David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly will each lead the way for the Blues. Perron (59 points) has tallied 24 goals and 35 assists and has recorded multiple points on 11 different occasions this year. O’Reilly has 12 goals and 44 assists to his name and has notched a point in 35 games.
New York has netted 4.5 units for moneyline bettors this season and is currently 35-27 straight up (SU). Through 62 regular season contests, 34 of its games have gone under the total, while 25 have gone over and just three have pushed. New York’s 15-15 SU as the visiting team this season.
New York has converted on 17.8 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 16th overall and it’s successfully killed off 80.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
New York’s skaters have been penalized 3.3 times per game in total this season, and 2.7 per game over their past ten contests. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 7.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Semyon Varlamov (26.2 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for New York. Varlamov has 20 wins, 21 losses, and five OT losses to his credit, while registering a .918 save percentage and 2.51 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Islanders, the offense will be heavily coordinated by Mathew Barzal (18 goals, 36 assists) and Brock Nelson (23 goals, 27 assists).
New York Islanders at St. Louis Blues Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The under has hit in four of New York’s last five outings.
- New York has managed 27.8 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while St. Louis is averaging 34.6 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- Power-play opportunities could prove to be critical in tonight’s game. The Islanders are 6-9 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 23-18 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Blues are 15-7 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 29-18 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- St. Louis is 1-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while New York is 3-2 in shootouts.
- St. Louis skaters have averaged 8.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 7.6 takeaways per game (ranked 15th overall).
- New York is ranked 18th in the NHL with 7.2 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down, however, as the team has forced 5.4 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.6 takeaways over its last five.
