A game between two teams currently on losing streaks, the Florida Panthers and the St. Louis Blues take the ice at the Scottrade Center in an East-West tilt. The action gets started at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 9, and you can catch the game live on Fox Sports Midwest.
Florida Panthers vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
St. Louis (-160) is currently favored over Florida (+140), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-130 money on the under, +110 on the over).
St. Louis is 26-19 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 2.5 units this season. That winning percentage, the third-best in the Central Division in this young season, hasn’t moved much from the 46-36 record the team posted during the 2016-17 season campaign. Of the team’s 45 regular season matches, 27 have gone under the total, while 18 have gone over and none have pushed. The team’s 15-8 SU at home this year.
The Blues have converted on just 15.2 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that’s ranked 28th overall in the NHL. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated 16th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 81.2 percent of all penalties.
The Blues, as a collective unit, have been penalized just 3.5 times per game overall this season, and 2.6 per game over their last five contests. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 8.5 minutes per game over their last 10 outings, overall.
Sporting a .911 save percentage and 25.9 saves per game, Jake Allen (18-16-2) has been the best option in goal for St. Louis this season. If the Blue Notes choose to give him the evening off, however, St. Louis may turn to Carter Hutton (9-6-6 record, .941 save percentage, 1.81 goals against average).
The Blue Notes will continue relying on offensive production out of Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko. Schenn (43 points) has tallied 17 goals and 26 assists and has recorded multiple points 10 times this year. Tarasenko has 18 goals and 24 assists to his credit and has notched a point in 26 games.
Over on the other bench, Florida is 17-24 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 41 regular season matches, 21 of its games have gone under the total, while 20 have gone over and none have pushed. As the road team, the Panthers are 7-15 SU so far.
The Panthers have converted on just 15.9 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s ranked 26th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 24th overall and it’s successfully killed off 80.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
Florida’s players have been penalized 4.3 times per game this season, and 3.2 per game over their last five outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 8.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
James Reimer (28.6 saves per game) has been the main option in the net for Florida. Reimer owns an 11-17-5 record, and has registered a .912 save percentage and 3.01 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Panthers, the offense will be coordinated by Jonathan Huberdeau (15 goals, 25 assists) and Vincent Trocheck (15 goals, 22 assists).
Florida Panthers at St. Louis Blues Free Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Trends
Florida has averaged 2.8 goals per game overall this year, but is down to 1.7 goals per contest over its last three games (0-3 SU over that span).
Power-play opportunities could prove to be extremely important in tonight’s game. The Panthers are 5-12 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 7-15 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes. The Blues are 13-7 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 18-13 when total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
St. Louis is 3-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while Florida is 2-3 in shootouts.
St. Louis may have an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 11-8 in games decided by one goal, while Florida is 9-12 in such games.
The under has hit in three of St. Louis’ last five games.
One of the best at possession and valuing the puck, St. Louis is ranked 1st this season with just 5.6 giveaways per game. That figure has trended upward, as the team’s averaged 7.3 giveaways over its last 10 games and 7.0 giveaways over its last five.
Florida is ranked 27th this season with 11.9 giveaways per game. That figure has trended down lately, however, as it’s averaged 9.8 giveaways over its last 10 games and 8.6 giveaways over its last five.
The Blue Notes this season have registered the 12th-most hits in the NHL (22.0 per game).
