Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Blues vs Wild NHL Odds
Looking for St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Blues taking on the Wild on Thursday January 26th at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions.
(26-8-5) St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild (26-9-5)
Date: Thursday January 26th
Time: 5:00 PM
Venue: Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Wild -165
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds:
NHL Betting Total: 5
Live NHL Odds
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The St. Louis Blues’ play has slipped of late, seeing the team lose three in a row entering Tuesday’s match against the Penguins, and five of their last seven games.
Minnesota, on the other hand, has kept the ball rolling throughout the season so far. The Wild are 7-3 in January games thus far and currently sit atop of the Central Division with 65 total points in 46 games played.
St. Louis Blues
While the Blues’ have a strong stable of forwards that form three lines that can all score, the heavy lifting has largely landed on the shoulders of superstar winger, Vladamir Tarasenko.
Tarasenko leads the team with 46 points, which is 14 points of the next best mark on the team. To no surprise, he is tops amongst the club in both goals (20) and assists (28).
The young Russian is tied for 7th in the NHL in the point race overall.
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Alex Steen and Jaden Schwartz both missed some time this year due to injuries, but have performed well when in the lineup.
Steen and Schwartz have 31 and 30 points, respectively, and sit second and third amongst the Blues’ forwards in production.
However, both are bested by the top scorer on St. Louis’ blueline, Kevin Shattenkirk, who has netted 11 goals and 32 points on the year.
The pending free agent is positioning himself well for a large contract in the off-season, and if the Blues’ continue to slide down the standings, could be dealt by the trade deadline in March.
The major hole in the roster this season has been in net, where Jake Allen was handed the starter’s reigns entering the year but has not had a good season to date.
Allen owns a .897 SV% and a 2.85 GAA on the year in 34 appearances. Carter Hutton was signed to be a solid back-up to Allen and has seen action in 20 games so far, but also owns a sub-par .892 SV% and 2.80 GAA.
Minnesota Wild
Goaltending is an area that Minnesota does not need to be concerned about addressing, with Devan Dubnyk putting together a Vezina worthy season. Dubnyk leads the entire NHL in both Goals Against Average and Save Percentage.
On the year, Dubnyk has a 1.91 GAA and .935 SV%, respectively. His 25 wins sit him in 3rd place in the category and he’s been the main reason behind the Wild’s climb to the top.
He is also a major reason why three Wild players rank top-5 in the NHL in plus-minus.
Ryan Suter, Jason Zucker and Jared Spurgeon rank first, second and fourth in plus-minus, all sitting at plus-26 or better.
Suter, the leader at +28, once again is logging huge minutes this season, sitting third overall in average time on-ice at 27:14, just three seconds fewer than the leader, Drew Doughty.
Suter leads a defensive unit that grades out at second overall in goals against, allowing an average of just 2.3 per game. He is joined by Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba to form the top-four core.
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Minnesota isn’t all defense, though, as the club ranks 4th overall in goals per game this year at 3.3.
Eric Staal has experienced a nice comeback season under coach Bruce Boudreau, leading the team with 16 goals and 40 points in 46 games played.
The Wild have a balanced attack, seeing seven different forwards register 10+ goals on the year.
NHL Betting Trends:
- The Blues rank 10th in goals per game at 2.8 on average
- St. Louis is 4-6-0 in their past 10 games
- St. Louis is 7-12-1 on the road this year
- Minnesota rank 2nd in goals against this season at a mark of 2.3
- Minnesota is 16-6-0 at home
- Minnesota has the 3rd best goal differential in the league at +46
Free St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild NHL Hockey Prediction:
St. Louis has been on a slide of late and their defensive play has been a major reason for it. St. Louis has allowed at least five goals in each of their past three games entering Tuesday’s game against a Pittsburgh team that scores at the league’s best clip.
While the Blues’ rank ahead of league average in goals, Devan Dubnyk and the Wild have been inherently difficult to score against.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Minnesota -1.5
I expect that this will be no different, and that the Wild cover on home ice against St. Louis.
NHL Free Score Prediction: St. Louis-1 – Minnesota-3
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