St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Prediction, NHL Odds
The extended holiday break was a much-needed chance at a reset for Minnesota. The Wild haven’t played since a 7-4 loss in Dallas on Dec. 20, bringing their current streak to four consecutive losses. Outside of a 4-2 win at home against the Oilers on Wednesday, the Blues are also struggling. St. Louis rides into Minnesota with a 1-5-2 record over their last seven road games.
The Wild are slight -115 favourites to win on the NHL odds, with a total of 6.0.
Blues vs. Wild NHL Betting Odds
St. Louis got the better of Minnesota last season. The Blues won five of eight meetings, although half of the total games were decided by a single goal. Sports Interaction bettors are taking the Wild at about a 68 per cent rate for this one, while the Over/Under is split nearly down the middle. The Over hit in five of eight games last year.
The Blues are struggling on the road, going 1-7 straight up in their last eight games outside of St. Louis. They’re 18-14 against the spread overall and 7-8 ATS on the road. The total has gone Under in five of St. Louis’ last six games.
Minnesota has won just one of their last five games overall, but they’ve been generally good at home this year, posting a 10-2-1 record in their own building. They’re an even 15-15 ATS overall and 7-6 ATS at home. The total has gone Over in 11 of the Wild’s last 15 games overall and 11 of their 13 total home games this season.
St. Louis Blues
Vladimir Tarasenko’s big night helped bump St. Louis to the top of the Central Division in Wednesday’s win over the Oilers, as he scored the game-winning goal and added two assists. Tarasenko is averaging a point per game this season, leading the Blues with 32 points in 32 games. Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Brandon Saad also found the back of the net against Edmonton. Jordan Binnington stopped 26 of 28 shots faced.
Kyrou’s goal was his 10th of the season, becoming the fifth St. Louis player to record double digit goals this year along with Tarasenko (13), Saad (12), Pavel Buchnevich (11) and Ivan Barbashev (11). Barbashev, who didn’t play against Edmonton, is expected to return to the lineup on Saturday after clearing COVID protocols Thursday. Binnington should get the start in net. The Blues’ No. 1 netminder is 9-6-3 this season with a 2.83 goals-against average and .911 save percentage. Prior to the holiday break, Binnington had lost eight of his last 11 starts.
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota has a chance to leapfrog the Blues in the standings and claim top spot in the Central Division with a win on Saturday. It’s been a waiting game for the Wild as seven of their last 11 games were postponed due to COVID issues. They haven’t won since Dec. 9 and haven’t played since the loss to Dallas on Dec. 20. Kevin Fiala scored twice against the Stars, while Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman each buried one. Kaprizov is seventh in league scoring with 36 points (12G, 24A). Cam Talbot allowed six goals on 28 shots.
Joel Eriksson Ek is expected to miss several weeks with an upper-body injury suffered in the loss to Dallas. Eriksson Ek had seven points (2G, 5A) in eight December games and he has recorded 20 points (11G, 9A) in 30 games this season. Talbot is expected to get the start in net against St. Louis. The veteran goalie is 15-7-1 this season, with a 2.83 GAA and .914 SV. Talbot has lost each of his last three starts.
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