Welcome to another installment of NHL Predictions! Today, the NHL calendar has ten games. We are excited to take you around the league and give our predictions as to who will be victorious. Our prediction today looks at a Central Division showdown between the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild.
NHL Predictions
St Louis Blues vs Minnesota Wild
Head-to-Head: Blues 0-2 Wild
Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, FanDuel Sports Network North; Fan Duel Sports Wisconsin; ESPN+
The Wild lead the season series, 2-0. Furthermore, both wins, one in October and the other in November, came in St. Louis. The final two meetings of the season series will occur on home ice for the Wild.
Blues Story
The Blues are coming off a high-scoring loss on Saturday night. High-scoring games have been a constant in previous games for the Blue Note. Their last six games have seen the Blues and/or their opponent score at least four goals. Five of those six games have seen the Blues score four or more, while only three have seen their opponent score four or more. The offence has certainly been clicking. While the goaltending has been a little shaky going back to the start of December, there are indications that both of the team’s goalies are getting back on track. Jordan Binnington picked up a shutout in his last game. Furthermore, Joel Hofer, despite a rough start on Saturday, played well in December.
After Tuesday’s game, the Blues will return home for four games. The Blues will look to end their brief road trip on a high note before returning to the comforts of the Enterprise Center.
Wild Story
The Wild have continued to be a top team in the Central Division. They picked up a shutout on the road in their last game. The game before that saw the Wild rally to win in a shootout. The game ended excitingly when goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Alex Ovechkin in the shootout to clinch the win.
What makes this recent string of wins impressive is that the Wild are dealing with significant injuries. Star forward Kirill Kaprizov and team captain Jared Spurgeon are missing time due to their respective injuries. The Wild have been able to overcome the injuries and play winning hockey. It will be interesting to see if they can keep it up. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see if general manager Bill Guerin makes any moves to bring in outside help. There is still plenty of time before the NHL Trade Deadline (March 8), so Guerin is not against the clock when it comes to exploring options.
Prediction
This is a tough one. The Wild are dealing with injuries. On the other hand, the Blues goaltending has been inconsistent at times. Both teams are capable of putting the puck in the net and have done so as of late. We are going to predict a high-scoring game with the Blues picking up the two points. This also could be a game that requires overtime or a shootout.
Prediction: Blues win, 5-4, possibly in overtime or a shootout.
Prop Bets of the Night
The over/under for the game is set at 5.5 goals. We are taking over this with nine combined goals. If you are unsure about taking the over, take a look at this. The last three Wild games have seen 19 combined goals. The last three Blues games have seen a combined 22 goals. Both teams have seen some goals as of late.
For prop bets, we are taking Robert Thomas as an anytime-scorer for the Blues. We think he could have more than just one goal. For the Wild, we are taking Matt Boldy as an anytime-scorer.
Main photo by: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
The post NHL Predictions: January 7th St. Louis Blues Vs. Minnesota Wild appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.