In an East vs. West match-up of two teams on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention face-off. It’s time to continue our NHL odds series with a Blues-Red Wings prediction and pick.
The Blues visit an old Western Conference foe in the Detroit Red Wings. This is the second match-up between the teams in three days, as the Red Wings won in a shootout on Tuesday night. The Blues are just below the .500 mark on the year, and the last ten games are no different for them, going 5-4-1. The Red Wings had lost three straight before going to St. Louis. After a 2-2 first period, Lucas Raymond won the game for them in the shootout. The two teams are similarly matched and it should be another tight contest.
Here are the Blues-Red Wings NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Blues-Red Wings Odds
St. Louis Blues: +1.5 (-245)
Detroit Red Wings: -1.5 (+198)
Over: 6.5 (+100)
Under: 6.5 (-122)
How To Watch Blues vs. Red Wings
TV: BSDET/BSMW/ESPN+
Stream: NHLPP/ESPN+
Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Blues Could Cover The Spread
The Blues have been struggling to put away teams and finish games. Each of their last five losses has seen them tied or ahead late in the game, only for them to come out on the wrong side of the affair. The Blues started right against the Red Wings on Tuesday night, taking the lead 2:21 into the game off of Robert Bortuzzo's second goal of the year. They gave the lead right back a few minutes later but took a 2-1 lead on a Marco Scandella goal at the 10:03 mark of the first. Once again, they gave the lead back, and this time, they could not score again.
On a positive note were the two goal scorers. Bortuzzo got his second, and Scandella got his first of the year. Outside of Jordan Kyrou, the Blue have struggled to find a consistent goal scorer in the lineup and had to rely on different people on a night-in and night-out basis. While neither of those guys will score tons of goals, getting production from a defenseman can go a long way for the Blues to find scoring.
Speaking of Kyrou, for the Blues to win this game, he needs to be better. He had only one shot against the Red Wings and it did not generate a true scoring opportunity. He has six goals in March, but three of them came in one game against Columbus. In the other nine games, he only has three goals and has seen his shots-on-goal numbers tumble overall.
Jordan Binnington is expected to be back in the net for the Blues in this one, and while having the primary netminder in the cage is normally a good thing, the last two performances by Binnington suggest it may not be. Against Vegas, on the 12th he gave up four goals on 30 shots for a loss. Against Minnesota he was even worse, giving up five goals on only 24 shots before being pulled from the game. He has not won a start since February 16th, and he is going to be vital for the Blues getting a win tonight.
Why The Red Wings Could Cover The Spread
In an odd scheduling quirk, this is the third time in 13 games that the Red Wings will face the same opponent back to back. The first time on February 27 and 28, the Red Wings lost both games to Ottawa. The next time, on March 11 and 12, the Red Wings lost the away game to Boston but won the second game at home. This time, they started with a road win, and look to sweep the two-game series against the Blues.
The Red Wings need to work on lighting the lamp on a more consistent basis. They have scored just 26 goals in the last thirteen games, which is .90 goals per game below their 2.90 goals per game average on the season. Goal-scoring should start with Dylan Larkin. Larkin leads the team in goals this season but only has four in the last thirteen games. What is more concerning is his lack of creating opportunities. He only has three shots in the last two games combined and only created one opportunity against the Blues. That resulted in an assist.
The assist was on the man advantage, which has been good as of late for Detroit. They have seven power-play goals in March on 27 opportunities. That 25.9% conversion rate is a full five percentage points about their season average. If the Red Wings can get on the power-play and convert, they should cover this game.
Final Blues-Red Wings Prediction & Pick
St. Louis is not finishing games right now, and the Red Wings keep finding ways to fight back. The Blues cannot afford to go man-down this game either. These two teams are fairly evenly matched overall, but with the poor goaltending play recently from the Blues, that may be the difference in a tight contest.
Final Blues-Red wings Prediction & Pick: Red Wings -1.5 (+198)
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