Two squads on winning streaks, the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild clash at the Xcel Energy Center. This Central Division matchup gets going at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 23, and it can be watched live on NBC Sports Network.
St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Odds
St. Louis enters the contest as the narrow favorite with a -115 moneyline. The line for Minnesota sits at -105, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -110 money on the over and -110 on the under at Draftkings on the Indiana Sports betting app.
St. Louis is 35-27 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 0.9 units this season. Through 62 regular season matches, 31 of its games have gone over the total, while 29 have gone under and just two have pushed. As the away team in 2019-20, the Blue Notes are 15-16 SU.
St. Louis has converted on 23.8 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s good enough for fifth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.8 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, St. Louis has been sent to the penalty box 3.4 times per game overall this season, and 4.1 per game over its last ten matchups. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays just 7.6 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
With a .911 save percentage and 26.1 saves per game, Jordan Binnington (26-18-7) has been the best option in goal for St. Louis this year. If head coach Craig Berube chooses to rest him, however, the team may turn to Jake Allen (9-12-3 record, .923 save percentage, 2.29 goals against average).
David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Blues. Perron has 57 points on 24 goals and 33 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 11 different games. O’Reilly has 11 goals and 43 assists to his name (and has registered at least one point in 34 games).
Over on the other bench, Minnesota is 29-31 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.0 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 60 regular season outings, 29 of its games have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under and just five have pushed. This season, the team’s 17-14 SU as the home team.
Minnesota has converted on 21.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 27th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 75.6 percent of all penalties.
The Wild have been penalized 3.6 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five contests. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 6.0 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Alex Stalock has denied 25.2 shots per game as the top selection in the crease for Minnesota. Stalock has 16 wins, 15 losses, and four OT losses and has recorded a pedestrian 2.69 goals against average and a poor .908 save percentage this season.
Eric Staal (17 goals, 25 assists) will pace the attack for the Wild.
St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
Two of Minnesota’s last ten games have gone to a shootout. The team is 1-1 in those games and 2-3 overall in shootouts this year.
For both of these clubs, the over has hit in three of their past five matchups.
St. Louis skaters created 22.5 hits per game last season, while the Wild logged 19.5 hits per matchup.
