Two of the least-penalized clubs in the National Hockey League, the St. Louis Blues and the Winnipeg Jets face off at Bell MTS Place. Fox Sports Midwest will broadcast this Central Division matchup, and the action gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 1.
St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets Odds
St. Louis (-135) is being labeled as the favorite over Winnipeg (+115), and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals. If you want to play this matchup’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -110 money on the over and -110 on the under.
St. Louis is 31-21 straight up (SU) and has earned 6.2 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 52 regular season matches, 26 of its games have gone over the total, while 25 have gone under and none have pushed. The Blue Notes are 14-13 SU on the road in 2019-20.
St. Louis has converted on 24.7 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s good enough for fifth-best in the NHL. Additionally, its penalty kill is ranked 14th overall, and it has successfully killed off 81.3 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, St. Louis has been sent to the penalty box just 3.3 times per game during the 2019-20 season, 3.0 per game over its past five outings total, and 3.4 per game over its last five road outings. The team has had to kill penalties just 7.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .911 save percentage and 26.2 saves per game, Jordan Binnington (23-13-5) has been the best option in goal for St. Louis this year. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, head coach Craig Berube could turn to Jake Allen (8-11-3), who has a .925 save percentage and 2.26 goals against average this year.
The visiting Blues have relied on David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly this season. Perron (53 points) is up to 23 goals and 30 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 11 different games. O’Reilly has nine goals and 35 assists to his credit (and has logged a point in 29 games).
On the other side of the rink, Winnipeg is 25-27 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 1.3 units this year. 26 of its outings have gone under the total, while 24 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team is 11-14 SU at home this year.
Winnipeg has converted on 19.2 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 31st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 73.7 percent of all penalties.
Winnipeg players have been sent to the penalty box only 3.1 times per game this season, and 4.4 per game over their last five games. The team’s had to kill penalties 11.0 minutes per contest over their last five home games.
Connor Hellebuyck has stopped 28.0 shots per game as the primary option in the crease for Winnipeg. Hellebuyck has 22 wins, 20 losses, and four overtime losses to his credit and has maintained a .917 save percentage and 2.74 goals against average this season.
The home team offense will be led by Mark Scheifele (23 goals, 31 assists).
St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets Betting Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Jets, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Winnipeg is 3-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while St. Louis is 1-3 in shootouts.
- For both of these clubs, the total has gone over in three of their last five games.
- Winnipeg has averaged 2.9 goals per game overall this season, but is averaging 1.6 goals per contest in its last five contests (the team is 0-5 SU over that stretch).
- Four of Winnipeg’s last ten outings have been decided by two or more goals. The team is 1-3 overall in those games.
- The Jets this season have dished out the 10th-most hits per game in the NHL (23.2).
