The St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild clash at the Xcel Energy Center in a divisional matchup. The action gets started at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 2, and it can be caught live on Fox Sports North.
St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Odds
St. Louis is 17-9 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 6.3 units this year. Through 26 regular season contests, 13 of its games have gone over the total, while 12 have gone under and none have pushed. The Blue Notes are 8-4 SU on the road in 2017-18.
St. Louis has converted on just 17.4 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s ranked 23rd in the NHL. Its penalty kill is ranked 26th out of 31 teams, and the team’s successfully killed off only 76.8 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, St. Louis has been sent to the penalty box just 3.6 times per game during the 2017-18 season, and 3.0 per game over its last five matchups. The team has had to defend opponent power plays just 8.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 25.4 saves per game with a .907 save percentage, Jake Allen (13-8-1) has been the top option in goal for St. Louis this year. Allen played last night, however, so head coach Mike Yeo could choose to rest him and instead roll with Carter Hutton (4-3 record, .937 save percentage, 1.90 goals against average).
Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn will both lead the way for the visiting Blues. Schwartz (32 points) is up to 13 goals and 19 assists, and has recorded two or more points in nine different games. Schenn has 10 goals and 20 assists to his name (and has notched at least one point in 16 games).
Over on the other bench, Minnesota is 12-13 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.8 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 14 of its outings have gone over the total, while nine have gone under and just two have pushed. It’s 7-5 SU as the home team this year.
Minnesota has converted on 23.7 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s good enough for sixth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked ninth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.4 percent of all penalties.
Minnesota skaters have been sent to the penalty box 4.0 times per game in total this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays a whopping 13.6 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Devan Dubnyk has stopped 28.4 shots per game as the top netminder in goal for Minnesota. Dubnyk has 10 wins, nine losses, and two OT losses and has recorded a pedestrian 2.81 goals against average and a .912 save percentage this season.
Eric Staal (10 goals, 13 assists) will lead the attack for the Wild.
St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone over in four of Minnesota’s last five games.
The Blues are 7-5 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 11-6 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
St. Louis is 2-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while Minnesota is 1-1 in shootouts.
Minnesota skaters have forced 5.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 6.4 takeaways per game (ranked 23rd).
St. Louis is ranked ninth overall with 8.5 takeaways per game. That figure has trended higher recently, as it has forced 9.5 takeaways over its last 10 games and 9.6 takeaways over its last five.
St. Louis might have an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 6-3 in one-goal games, while Minnesota is 4-6 in such games.
