The St. Louis Blues and Vegas Golden Knights will both be going all-out to pick up a win and snap their respective two game losing streaks when they square off in a matchup of Western Conference Stanley Cup contenders on Thursday night. With the defending champion Blues and 2018 Stanley Cup finalist Golden Knights both needing a big win, let’s find out which team is offering the best value against their NHL Odds.
Blues vs Golden Knights – NHL Odds, Preview and Picks
- When: Thursday February 13, 2020 at 10:00 PM ET
- Where: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, NV
- TV: FSMW, ATRM
- NHL Odds: St. Louis +125/Vegas -145 / Total: 6
Why Bet On St. Louis?
The Blues have lost two straight and seven of their last nine games overall, including a 3-2 overtime home loss against Dallas on Saturday. Tuesday night’s matchup against Anaheim was canceled after veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac episode during the first period. The 36-year-old NHL record-holder collapsed on the bench, but on-site medical personnel revived him quickly with a defibrillator before taking him to UC Irvine Medical Center.
“Jay is currently undergoing a battery of testing to determine the how and why of what happened last night and things are looking very positive,” GM Doug Armstrong told the media Wednesday.
Bouwmeester’s father was in the stands as part of the team’s annual Dads’ Trip when the incident occurred while team captain Alex Pietrangelo visited his teammate and close friend on Wednesday.
“It’s hard to even explain. It happened so fast,” said Pietrangelo. “It felt like an eternity for us. We reacted as fast as we could. … It’s not easy to see anybody go through, let alone a close friend and teammate.”
St. Louis averages a healthy 3.2 goals per game (12th) while limiting the opposition to 2.8 goals per contest defensively (9th). The Blues have gone a decent 14-10-3-1 on the road this season.
- Blues are 10-3 in their last 13 Thursday games.
- Blues are 17-7 in their last 24 vs. a team with a losing record.
- Blues are 15-7 in their last 22 vs. Pacific.
- Blues are 1-4 in their last 5 overall.
- Blues are 1-4 in their last 5 games as a road underdog.
- Blues are 1-7 in their last 8 road games.
- Blues are 0-4 in their last 4 vs. Western Conference.
Why Bet On Vegas
The Golden Knights have lost two straight and three of their last five including a stunning 4-0 smackdown loss against Minnesota on Tuesday night as veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury allowed four shots to get past him on 20 attempts by the Wild. The former all-star was pulled for just the second time this season, but Knights head coach Peter DeBoer didn’t lay all of the blame at his net-minder’s feet.
“Three, four opportunities are in the crease and we’re not clearing pucks or people out of there,” DeBoer said. “We’ve got to be hungrier and harder in that area.”
Vegas averages a solid 3.1 goals per game, but the Knights also allow 3.0 goals per game defensively to rank an identical 15th at both ends of the ice. Vegas has gone 14-10-3-1 at home this season.
- Golden Knights are 4-9 in their last 13 overall.
- Golden Knights are 4-10 in their last 14 Thursday games.
- Golden Knights are 2-7 in their last 9 games as a favorite.
- Golden Knights are 0-4 in their last 4 games as a home favorite.
- Golden Knights are 0-4 in their last 4 home games.
Blues vs Golden Knights Expert Analysis and Prediction
While St. Louis has an identical road record to Vegas’ home mark coming into this contest, I’m going to ride the Golden Knights to get the huge win in this affair out of sheer desperation if nothing else. The Blues are 1-7 in their last 8 road games and 1-4 in their last 5 overall. While Vegas has struggled mightily in going 2-7 in their last 9 games as a favorite and 0-4 in their last 4 games as a home favorite, I’m fully expecting the Knights to dial up the intensity with the defending champs coming to town while Marc-Andre Fleury gets back to playing outstanding defense in goal. With the Favorite in this rivalry going 6-1 in the last 7 meetings and the home team going 7-1 in the last 8 meetings, I’m going with Vegas to get it done in a one-goal thriller!
Pick: Vegas 3 St. Louis 2
