8* Thursday NHL CHI/STL

Chicago vs. St. Louis, 02/28/2013 20:00 EDT, Score: 3 - 0

Money Line: -105 St. Louis

Sportsbook: 5Dimes

Result: Loss

Blues -105

The St. Louis Blues host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. St. Louis is coming off a 2-1 win over Columbus, while Chicago beat Edmonton in overtime their last time out, 3-2.

The St. Louis Blues went into a funk at the start of February, and that streak coincided with an injury to starting goaltender Jaroslav Halak. The team has exited that slide when they replaced the struggling Brian Elliott with Jake Allen.

Halak is back now, and he’s posted a 0.96 GAA and a .950 save percentage since returning. On the season he’s posted a 1.70 GAA and two shutouts in only five starts. The Blues are 4-0-1 in those starts. St. Louis posted the league’s best home winning percentage last season.

While the headlines from Chicago’s games on Sunday against Columbus and Monday against Edmonton show that Chicago was able to continue their streak, a closer look shows that the Blackhawks were actually out-played by a lousy Blue Jackets team, getting outshot 28-27 by a Columbus team that they ordinarily dominate, then needed overtime to get past the 13th-place Oilers.

The home team is 7-1 in the last eight meetings between these teams, and 16-5 in the last 21 meetings. Chicago is 2-5 in their last seven trips to the Scottrade Center. Take St. Louis.

Good Luck, Razor Ray

8* Play on St. Louis Blues -105