Two teams currently on winning streaks, the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild take the ice at the Xcel Energy Center. NBC Sports Network will showcase this Central Division matchup, and the puck drops at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 23.
St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Odds
St. Louis (-115) is being picked as the favorite over Minnesota (-105) and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals. If you want to play the matchup’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
St. Louis is 35-27 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 0.9 units this season. Through 62 regular season matches, 31 of its games have gone over the total, while 29 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Blue Notes are 15-16 SU on the road in 2019-20.
St. Louis has converted on 23.8 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s good enough for fifth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it has successfully killed off 80.8 percent of all penalties.
St. Louis, as a collective unit, has been whistled for penalties 3.4 times per game this season, and 4.1 per game over its last ten outings. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 7.6 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
Averaging 26.1 saves per game with a .911 save percentage, Jordan Binnington (26-18-7) has been the best option in goal for St. Louis this year. If St. Louis decides to rest him, however, the team might go with Jake Allen (9-12-3 record, .923 save percentage, 2.29 goals against average).
David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly will both be relied on to produce for the visiting Blues. Perron (57 points) has tallied 24 goals and 33 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 11 different games. O’Reilly has 11 goals and 43 assists to his credit, and has registered a point in 34 games.
On the other bench, Minnesota is 29-31 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.0 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 60 regular season matches, 29 of its games have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under and just five have pushed. The team’s 17-14 SU at home this season.
Minnesota has converted on 21.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 27th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 75.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
Minnesota skaters have been penalized 3.6 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five outings. The team’s had to kill penalties just 6.0 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Alex Stalock has stopped 25.2 shots per game as the top netminder in the crease for Minnesota. Stalock has 16 wins, 15 losses, and four overtime losses to his name and has maintained a subpar .908 save percentage and 2.69 goals against average this season.
The Wild offense will be led by Eric Staal (17 goals, 25 assists).
St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Two of Minnesota’s last ten games have gone to a shootout. The team is 1-1 in those games and 2-3 overall in shootouts this season.
- For both of these clubs, the over has hit in three of their past five outings.
- St. Louis skaters created 22.5 hits per game last season, while the Wild forced 19.5 hits per matchup.
