St. Louis Blues vs. Vancouver Canucks Prediction, NHL Odds
St. Louis has won back-to-back games but will have their hands full in this one, visiting the league’s top team. Since losing to the Blues in Missouri earlier this month, Vancouver has gone nine games without a loss in regulation.
The puck drop will drop at 10:00 PM EST. at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Our NHL odds have the Canucks as a heavy -220 favourite at home on Wednesday night, with the OVER/UNDER set at 6 goals.
Blues vs. Canucks NHL Betting Odds
Wednesday night’s season series finale will decide the winner, with each team taking one game so far. Vancouver smoked the Blues 5-0 in front of their home crowd in the opener way back in October, but the Blues evened it with a gutsy 2-1 victory on January 4th. The scoring leaders in the series so far are JT Miller (1G 2A) for the Canucks and Robert Thomas (1G 1A) for the Blues, while Thatcher Demko and Jordan Binnington were the starting netminders in both games.
Looking further back, over their past eight meetings, the Blues have won six times and the matchup has only played the OVER twice in that stretch.
The offence has tended to go dry for the Blues at times this season, hence their 17-25-3 record on the OVER/UNDER this season. They are averaging 2.8 goals per game which is seventh worst in the NHL. They have won their past two games, meaning back-to-back wins against the spread, but their odds of +185 on Wednesday’s Moneyline is their biggest payout over their past 10 games.
No team covers the spread more than Vancouver, doing so in 32 of their 46 games this season and seven of their past 10. They have been locked in defensively lately, holding opponents to a goal or less in three of their past five and playing the OVER/UNDER 1-3-1. The Canucks have the highest-scoring offence at 3.8 goals per game, pair that with the second-fewest goals against at 2.5 per game, which makes them a powerhouse.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues found themselves chasing the game last night in Calgary after the Flames struck first halfway through the first period. St. Louis battled back in the second with Brandon Saad (12) tying things at one, before allowing two more and going down 3-1. Just before the end of the second, veteran Brayden Schenn (11) sparked the team with his first career short-handed goal, to pull them back within one. Jordan Kyrou (13) opened the third with a game-tying goal and with only 48 seconds left in the game Saad (13) tipped in the game-winner, completing the comeback, giving the Blues back-to-back wins for the second time in the new year.
Defenceman Nick Leddy and Colton Parayko both had their best games of the season with three assists and two assists respectively, as the Blues’ top D pair logged over 24 minutes in the game. Parayko extended his point streak to three games and has not been a minus in six consecutive games.
As the Blues continue their West Coast swing Wednesday in Vancouver, we may see Joel Hofer in goal for St. Louis. The 23-year-old has dropped his past three starts but still has a respectable .910 save percentage in 16 games.
Vancouver Canucks
Pius Suter (9) and Quinn Hughes (12) both scored within the first seven minutes before the Canucks threw it into cruise control in Monday night’s 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Vancouver was outworked by one of the NHL’s worst teams in the final two periods of Monday’s game. The Blackhawks outshot them 22-17 in the second and third combined, but Thatcher Demko bailed his team out stopping all 31 shots thrown his way.
Demko’s fifth shutout of the season puts him in a three-way tie for the league leader with Tristan Jarry (Penguins) and Connor Ingram (Coyotes). The 28-year-old has the second-best odds to take home the Vezina Trophy this season as the NHL’s top goaltender. Our NHL Futures Board has him listed at +340 behind only Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
Rogers Arena is a tough place for opponents to visit, as the Canucks have only lost five games at home all season. They have yet to lose at home in the new year and a win tonight would be five in a row.
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