N.Y. Rangers vs. St. Louis Blues Prediction, Preview, and Odds
The New York Rangers are traveling to the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri to face the St. Louis Blues. New York is 26-11-2 this season and sits second in the Eastern Conference. St. Louis is 11th in the Western Conference and has a record of 20-18-1. In the two games played last season between these two teams, the home team won both games. The puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST.
Rangers Struggling as of Late
The New York Rangers are heading to St. Louis after their loss at home on Monday to the Vancouver Canucks with a final score of 3-6. This would be the third loss in their last five games. New York has been allowing a lot of goals recently and I don't blame their defending. The Rangers are allowing only 29.5 shots on goal per game. Despite this the Rangers are allowing 2.82 goals per game, which is not bad for the season. However, in their last five games, the Rangers have allowed 3.20 goals per game. On offense New York is still holding strong averaging 3.36 goals per game.
Igor Shesterkin on the season has been playing well but recently has been having some issues. Shesterkin has a record of 16-9-0 this season with a goals against average of 2.85 and a save percentage of .904. In his last three starts however, Igor has a record of 1-2-0 with a goals against average of 4.02 and a save percentage of .838.
Two key players are questionable to play on Thursday and those two are Mika Zibanejad and Jakob Trouba. While Trouba does not contribute many points to the team, he does bring physicality which protects his team. Zibanejad however is the third top goal scorer on the Rangers with 14 goals in 39 games.
Blues Can't Find Offense
The St. Louis Blues are hosting the Rangers after their loss on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers with a final score of 1-5. The Blues are struggling to find offense this season as they are only averaging 2.77 goals per game, that is the seventh worst in the NHL. Their powerplay might be a big contributor to that as they are dead last in powerplay percentage with a percentage of 10.6%. On defense the Blue are allowing 3.18 goals against per game.
Jordan Binnington has had an average year this season in net for the Blues. Binnington has a record of 13-11-1 this season with a goals against average of 3.05 and a save percentage of .905. His numbers are not amazing for the season but when you look at his recent games, he has been playing well. In his last three starts Jordan Binnington has a goals against average of 1.31 and a save percentage of .949.
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Full-Game Side Bet
Rating:
The New York Rangers are looking for a much needed win after their last two losses. Even if Igor Shesterkin is not playing at his best recently, he is still facing an offense that has only generated 1.38 goals per game in their last five games. This is going to be the second matchup where we see Binnington and Shesterkin in the history of these two teams. In the first meeting the Rangers won at home with a final score of 6-4.
I am siding with the Rangers on the moneyline.
Prediction: New York Rangers ML ( -156 )
Full-Game Total Pick
Rating:
The Rangers are going to be supressed by the Blues defense as they have only allowed 2.56 goals per game in their last five games. Meanwhile the Blues have only averaged 1.38 goals per game in their last five games. I expect both teams to play well defensively and as a result should keep this a low scoring game. When we factor in both teams averages in their last five games on both offense and defense, we get a projected score of Rangers 3 to Blues 1.
I am siding with the under at 6.5.
Prediction: Under 6.5 ( -120 )
Growing up in Pittsburgh, Anthony has always been surrounded by sports. Whether its watching the Penguins win the cup or the Steelers winning another ring, he saw what it took to win it all. He enjoys breaking down stats and applying them to spreadsheets to better his picks. With the combination of watching trends and his spreadsheets, Anthony has been very successful as a sports bettor. His last name is the German word for people and it is clear that he is the people's choice when it comes to handicapping.
