Two clubs that split their head-to-head series (one win apiece) a year ago, the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings clash at Little Caesars Arena. The puck drops at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 27, and you are able to see this East-West matchup live on Fox Sports Detroit.
St. Louis Blues vs. Detroit Red Wings Odds
St. Louis is 5-6 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. Five of its matches have gone over the total, while another five have gone under and none have pushed. As an away team in 2019-20, the Blue Notes are 2-3 SU.
St. Louis has converted on 25.7 percent of its power play chances thus far. That’s a nice improvement from last season, when it was ranked 15th in the league by converting on 19.9 percent of its extra-man opportunities. Its penalty kill has also gotten stronger year-over-year, as the team’s gone from successfully defending 80.1 percent of all opponent power plays (ranked 16th overall last season) to 85.3 percent this year.
For the team as a whole, St. Louis has been whistled for penalties 3.5 times per game this season. Last year, that number was the fifth-lowest mark in the league at 3.3 penalties per game. The team served an average of 7.5 penalty minutes per game last season and is right around that same amount this year.
Sporting a .916 save percentage and 27.9 saves per game, Jordan Binnington (4-5-3) has been the primary option in goal for St. Louis this season. Binnington played last night, however, so head coach Craig Berube could decide to rest him and instead turn to Jake Allen (1-1 record, .849 save percentage, 4.17 goals against average).
Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko will both be relied on to facilitate things for the visiting Blues. Schenn (11 points) has tallied eight goals and three assists, and has recorded multiple points three times. Tarasenko has three goals and seven assists to his name (and has logged at least one point in seven games).
Detroit is 3-8 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. Five of its outings have gone over the total, while three have gone under and three have pushed. So far this year, the team’s 1-4 SU at home.
Detroit has converted on just 11.1 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that places it in the bottom 5 overall among NHL teams. Its penalty kill is also ranked 27th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 71.4 percent of all penalties.
Detroit players have been sent to the penalty box 3.5 times per game this season, a number that’s pretty close to the 3.5 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 7.9 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has had to kill penalties for 8.8 minutes per outing this year.
Jimmy Howard has denied 31.8 shots per game as the top selection in goal for Detroit. Howard has one win and five losses to his credit and has registered a poor .901 save percentage and 3.59 goals against average this season.
Anthony Mantha (seven goals, four assists) will lead the offensive attack for the Wings.
St. Louis Blues at Detroit Red Wings Free Picks
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Red Wings, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The over has hit in three of St. Louis’ last five outings.
- St. Louis has managed 29.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Detroit is averaging 33.2 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- The Red Wings are 1-5 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Blues are 0-4 SU in games where they serve more minutes than their opponent.
- After posting a 3-3 record in games decided by a shootout last year, St. Louis is off to a 0-1 start in shootouts this season. Detroit went 3-5 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
