In their final head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the St. Louis Blues and the New Jersey Devils take the ice at the Prudential Center. This East-West matchup gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, March 6, and it can be watched live on Fox Sports Midwest.
St. Louis Blues vs. New Jersey Devils Odds
St. Louis comes into the game as the heavy favorite with a -175 moneyline. The line for New Jersey is standing at +155 and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -110 for the over and -110 for the under.
St. Louis is 40-27 straight up (SU) and has earned 5.9 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 67 regular season outings, 33 of its games have gone over the total, while 32 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Blue Notes are 17-16 SU on the road in 2019-20.
St. Louis currently has the third-best power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s scored on 24.5 percent of its extra-man chances this year. Its penalty kill is ranked 19th out of 31 teams, and the team’s successfully killed off 79.5 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Blue Notes have been sent to the penalty box just 3.4 times per game during the 2019-20 season, and 4.4 per game over its last five road outings. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 7.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 25.9 saves per game with a .911 save percentage, Jordan Binnington (30-18-7) has been the best option in goal for St. Louis this year. If head coach Craig Berube chooses to rest him, however, St. Louis could turn to Jake Allen (10-12-3), who has a .922 save percentage and 2.31 goals against average this year.
David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Blues. Perron has 60 points via 25 goals and 35 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 12 different games. O’Reilly has 12 goals and 47 assists to his name (and has logged at least one point in 38 games).
On the other side of the ice, New Jersey is 26-40 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. 33 of its outings have gone under the total, while 32 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team is 12-20 SU at home this season.
The Devils have converted on just 18.0 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that places them in the bottom 10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 11th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.0 percent of all penalties.
The Devils have been penalized 3.9 times per game this season, and 2.6 per game over their past five outings. The team’s had to kill penalties 8.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
MacKenzie Blackwood has stopped 28.2 shots per game as the primary option in goal for the Devils. Blackwood has 21 wins, 24 losses, and eight OT losses to his name and has maintained a .916 save percentage and 2.71 goals against average this year.
The Devils offense will be led by Kyle Palmieri (23 goals, 20 assists).
St. Louis Blues at New Jersey Devils Betting Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Trends
Four of St. Louis’ last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 4-0 in those games.
St. Louis has allowed 2.8 goals per game overall this year, but has given up only 1.6 per contest over their eight-game winning streak.
Penalties and power plays may be key in tonight’s game. The Blues are 16-7 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 32-18 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Devils are 12-19 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 15-24 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
St. Louis is 2-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while New Jersey is 4-6 in shootouts.
Five of New Jersey’s last five games has gone under the total.
One of the top teams at stickhandling and crisp passes, St. Louis is ranked third this season with just 7.5 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower, however, as it’s averaged 6.2 giveaways over its last 10 games and 4.8 giveaways over its last five.
New Jersey has averaged 11.6 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 9.3 giveaways per game (ranked 13th in the league).
