Penguins vs Blues Prediction

pickdawgz.com

21 October 2023

The Pittsburgh Penguins will play the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Pittsburgh has won two out of their last three games, while St. Louis has dropped two of their last three.

Penguins Preview

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 2-2-0 this year after they lost to the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 6-3 in their last game. Pittsburgh took a very quick lead in the first period, but they allowed Detroit to score the next four goals. Pittsburgh did cut the lead to 4-3, but allowed two empty net goals at the end. The Penguins out shot Detroit by a total of 33-29 and went 0-3 on the power play in the game. Pittsburgh had won the previous two games against Washington and Calgary. The Pittsburgh Penguins are scoring 3.50 goals per game and they are allowing 3.00 goals against per game, while going 18.2% on the power play and 76.9% on the penalty kill. Evgeni Malkin has led the Penguins this season with three goals, four assists, and 18 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Pittsburgh is Tristan Jarry, who is 1-2-0 this year with a 2.37 goals against average and a .914 save percentage.

Blues Preview

The St. Louis Blues are 1-1-1 this season after they lost to the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 6-2 in their last game. St. Louis cut the Arizona lead to 2-1 in the second period, but they allowed the next three goals for the loss. The Blues were out shot by a total of 42-26 and went 0-2 on the power play in the game. St. Louis defeated the Kraken for their only win of the season so far. The St. Louis Blues are scoring 1.33 goals per game and they are allowing 2.67 goals against per game, while going 0.0% on the power play and 55.6% on the penalty kill. Jakub Vrana has led the Blues with one goal, two assists, and six shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for St. Louis is Jordan Binnington, who is 1-0-1 this year with a 0.92 goals against average and a .969 save percentage.

St. Louis Blues Team Facts

The underdogs have won three of the Blues' last four games at Enterprise Center.
The Blues have covered the puck line in eight of their last nine games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
The Blues have lost the third period in each of their last five night games following a home loss.
The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 2' market has hit in each of the Blues' last 10 home games against the Penguins.

Pittsburgh Penguins Team Facts

The Penguins have lost four of their last five games as favorites.
The Penguins have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five games as favorites.
The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 2' market has hit in each of the Penguins' last eight night games at Enterprise Center.
The Penguins have won the third period in 12 of their last 16 night games against Central Division opponents.

St. Louis Blues Player Prop Facts

Pavel Buchnevich has scored the first goal in three of the Blues' last four games as home underdogs against Metropolitan Division opponents.
Pavel Buchnevich has scored a goal in four of his last five appearances against Metropolitan Division opponents at Enterprise Center.
Robert Thomas has recorded at least one point in each of his last eight appearances against Metropolitan Division opponents at Enterprise Center.
Robert Thomas has recorded at least one assist in seven of his last eight appearances against Metropolitan Division opponents at Enterprise Center.
Sammy Blais has the equal-highest Plus/Minus for the Blues this season (+3).

Pittsburgh Penguins Player Prop Facts

Bryan Rust has scored at least one goal in three of the Penguins' last four games.
Evgeni Malkin has recorded at least one point in 15 of the Penguins' last 17 games as favorites.
Rickard Rakell has recorded an assist in four of the Penguins' last five games as favorites against Central Division opponents.
Jake Guentzel has the most multi-assist games for the Penguins this season (2).

Matchup/League Facts

The St. Louis Blues ranks T30th in the league in power play percentage this season (0.00%).
The St. Louis Blues ranks 32nd in the league in penalty minutes this season (18).
The Pittsburgh Penguins ranks T1st in the league for opponent goals in Period 1 per game this season (0.25).
The Pittsburgh Penguins ranks T2nd in the league for goals in Period 3 per game this season (2.00).

Pick

The Blues come into this game with the home ice advantage, but they didn’t have much luck in their last home game against Arizona. Pittsburgh is 1-1 on the road and lost their last road game in Detroit. The Blues have really had issues scoring goals so far, as they have only scored five goals in three games. On the bright side, Binnington is off to a great start in net for St. Louis. I like Binnington to have another very solid game and I am taking the Blues here.