Can the St. Louis Blues Figure Out How to Remain Out of a Wild Card Spot?
The Minnesota Wild will head to the Enterprise Center on Friday night to take on the St. Louis Blues in a Central Divisional matchup. This will be the second of three games against one another as they will also play here on April 16. They played in Minnesota back on New Year’s Day, with the Blues picking up a 6-4 road win. Minnesota is currently second in the Central Division (43-20-5, 91 points), while St. Louis is third in the Central Division (38-20-10, 86 points) right now.Â
These teams are both playing extremely well and looking to gain momentum as this could potentially be a playoff series matchup as well. Let’s take a closer look at the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues to figure out which side we should be betting on.Â
Can the St. Louis Blues Figure Out How to Have Their Centers Dominate Against the Minnesota Wild?
Left winger Kirill Kaprizov has been playing extremely well so far as he is tied for seventh in the NHL in goals, tied for 21st in the sport in assists, and sixth in the league in points as he has recorded 85 points (39 goals, 46 assists) with five points scored in his last five games played.
The Wild are dominating offensively as they are averaging 3.63 goals on 32.4 shots per game. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has been decent this year as he is 22-21-5 with 2.84 goals allowed per game with a .911 save percentage. On the defensive side of the ice, Minnesota is giving up 3.02 goals on 31.9 shot attempts as of this writing.Â
St. Louis has been a solid offensive team as they are scoring 3.63 goals on 32.4 shot attempts right now. Center Jordan Kyrou has been decent this season as he is tied for 39th in the league in assists and 46th in the NHL in points as he has scored 62 points (22 goals, 40 assists) while adding one point in his last three games. The Blues are allowing 2.91 goals on 31.6 shots right now, so they need their defense to step up a tiny bit more. Goaltender Ville Husso has been doing pretty well as he is 19-6-5 with a .922 save percentage and 2.45 goals allowed per game. Â
Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues Betting Prediction
The major difference as of late between these two teams has been on the defensive side of the ice. The Wild are allowing 1.8 goals per game in their previous four games, while the Blues are giving up 4.2 goals per game in their last five games. With Jordan Kyrou being listed as day-to-day, it could be a big blow to their chances if he is unable to be 100 percent. All in all, go with the Minnesota Wild to cover the puck line in this game on the road.
* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.
Last updated:April 5, 2022 Blues, Central, NHL, Wild