Facing each other for the third and final time this season, the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues clash at the Scottrade Center in a Western Conference tilt. The match will get going at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, March 23, and it’ll air live on Sportsnet Pacific.
Vancouver Canucks vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
St. Louis (-300) is currently the favorite over Vancouver (+250), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -120 for the under and +100 for the over.
St. Louis is 40-33 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.2 units for moneyline bettors this year. That early-season winning percentage hasn’t moved much from the 46-36 record the team posted during last year’s regular season campaign. Out of the team’s 73 regular season contests, 43 of them have gone under the total, while 29 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team is 22-15 SU at home this year.
The Blues have converted on just 15.8 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s ranked 30th overall in the NHL. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 18th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 80.1 percent of all penalties.
The Blues, as a collective unit, have been penalized just 3.4 times per game overall this season, and 1.8 per game over their past five games. The team has been forced to kill penalties for just 7.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings, overall.
Averaging 24.9 saves per game with a .906 save percentage, Jake Allen (24-27-2) has been the top goalkeeper for St. Louis this year. If St. Louis chooses to rest him, however, head coach Mike Yeo could turn to Carter Hutton (17-13-13 record, .934 save percentage, 2.02 goals against average).
The Blue Notes will continue to look for offensive production from Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko. Schenn (62 points) has tallied 25 goals and 37 assists and has recorded two or more points in 13 different games this year. Tarasenko has 27 goals and 31 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 38 contests.
Over on the other bench, Vancouver is 26-48 straight up (SU) and has lost 16.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 74 regular season outings, 41 of its games have gone over the total, while 32 have gone under and none have pushed. The Canucks are 14-24 SU as the away team this season.
The Canucks have converted on 21.7 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 22nd overall and it’s successfully killed off 78.4 percent of all penalties.
Vancouver’s skaters have been penalized 3.8 times per game in total this season, and 4.6 per game over their last five games. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays 12.6 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
Jacob Markstrom (.910 save percentage and 2.78 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Vancouver. Markstrom is averaging 26.4 saves per game and has 19 wins, 36 losses, and seven OT losses to his credit.
Brock Boeser (29 goals, 26 assists) will pace the attack for the visiting Canucks.
Vancouver Canucks at St. Louis Blues Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
Over Vancouver’s last ten games, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 1-5 in those games).
Penalties and power plays could prove to be key tonight. The Canucks are 9-12 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 15-35 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Blues are 18-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 30-21 when total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
St. Louis is 3-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while Vancouver is 0-3 in shootouts.
St. Louis may hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 17-12 in games decided by one goal, while Vancouver is 8-16 in such games.
The over has hit in three of St. Louis’ last five games.
St. Louis is scoring 2.8 goals per game across its three-game win streak.
St. Louis skaters have averaged 4.0 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 6.0 giveaways per game (ranked 1st).
Vancouver has averaged 9.8 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 8.2 giveaways per game (the eighth-fewest in the league).
The Blue Notes this season have tallied the ninth-most hits in the league (23.1 per game), but the club has averaged 28.6 over their past five home outings.
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