The St. Louis Blues (18-16-1) travel to face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins (16-13-4) on Saturday, December 30th. This game will be played at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The Penguins are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Blues are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Avalanche. Puck drop is set for 7:00 ET.

St. Louis Blues vs Pittsburgh Penguins

The St. Louis Blues Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

The Blues come in with an overall record of 18-16-1. On the road, St. Louis has a 7-10-1 record, whereas they are 11-6-0 at home. In the Western Central division, they are currently 6th, and in the Western conference, they come into the game sitting 9th. St. Louis heads into the game with 12 wins by more than one goal, and lost 15 games by multiple goals. Their overall puck line record this season is 19-16.

The Blues are looking to bounce back from a 2-1 loss at home to the Avalanche. Offensively, the Blues got off to a good start by scoring one time in the first period, but that was the extent of their scoring for the game. With 29 shots on goal, St. Louis’ offense managed to score their one goal while playing shorthanded.

Although they didn’t win, St. Louis did cover the puck line as the underdogs in the game. Combining for 3 goals, the game finished below the over/under line of 6.5.

The Pittsburgh Penguins Are Coming Off A Win

This season, the Penguins have an overall record of 16-13-4. On the road, Pittsburgh holds a 8-7-3 mark, and they are 8-6-1 when playing at home. Their current record places them 7th in the Eastern Metropolitan division and 12th in the Eastern conference. Pittsburgh’s average scoring margin this season is +.3 leading to an overall puck line record of 15-18. Their scoring margin at home is +.3 and +.3 on the road.

The Penguins recently played against the Islanders and secured a win with a score of 7-0. In the first period, the Penguins struggled to find the net on offense, but they turned things around with six times in the second period and one goal in the third. In the game, Pittsburgh managed to score all seven goals at even strength. They concluded with 32 shots on goal and committed 9 turnovers.

Pittsburgh was the underdog going into the game and picked up a win against the puck line. The combined total of 7 goals exceeded the over/under line, which was set at 6 goals for the game.

St. Louis Offense Breakdown

In terms of their offensive performance, the Blues are averaging 2.9 goals per game this season, putting them in the 25th spot in the NHL. When it comes to shots on goal per game, they are ranked 18th in the league. The St. Louis offense is ranked 31st in power play goals. As for shorthanded goals, they find themselves at 3rd in the NHL.

This season, the Blues’ have an over/under record of 13-20-2. Throughout the season, they have played 16 games that did not exceed the 6 over/under line. On average, their games are averaging 6.2 goals per game.

Pittsburgh Offense Breakdown

When looking at their offense, the Penguins have an average of 3 goals per game this season, positioning themselves 26th in the NHL. In terms of shots on goal per game, they are ranked 13th in the league. Looking at how the Penguins’ offense is performing during power plays, they are 26th in power play goals and 20th in shorthanded goals.

The Penguins’ over/under record this season is 13-18-2. Last season, they had 33 games failed to surpass this game’s over/under line of 6. Overall, their games averaged 6.4 goals per game.

St. Louis Team Defense

Defensively, the Blues are currently 8th in goals allowed. On average, opponents are taking 31.8 shots per game against St. Louis. They also are 16th in shutouts, coming in with 2 shutouts.

Pittsburgh Team Defense

Defensively, the Penguins come into the season ranked 20th in goals allowed. Opponents are averging 30.5 shots per game against Pittsburgh. For the season, they are ranked 1st in shutouts, coming in with 5 shutouts.

Blues vs Penguins Trends

• In their last ten games away from home, the Blues have a straight up record of 5-5 while going 5-5 vs. the spread. The team averaged 2 goals per game in this stretch.
• Across their five previous home games, Pittsburgh has an puck line mark of 2-3. Their straight up record in these matchups was 2-3 while averaging 3 goals per game.
• Spanning across their last five games as the betting underdog, the Penguins have gone 3-2 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 2-3.
• Spanning across their last five games as the betting favorite, the Blues have gone 2-3 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 2-3.

Blues vs Penguins Prediction

If you’re considering a direct moneyline bet, the Penguins is the choice to make. However, with a payout of -187, you might want to use this bet as a building block for a parlay.

If you’re looking for a puck line bet, I’d suggest going with the Blues to cover. Even in the event of a Penguins victory, this game is expected to be closely fought, and the Blues should cover the puck line.

With an over/under line sitting at 6 goals, we like this game to surpass that mark and recommend getting a bet down on the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are 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.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.