On Saturday afternoon, ABC and ESPN+ will offer a matinee matchup of playoff-bound Central Division rivals. The Minnesota Wild are having their typical good but not great season. Minnesota’s big question heading into next month’s playoffs is if a starting goaltender can emerge for a serious playoff run. The acquisition of Marc Andre-Fleury was a tell that Minnesota had no confidence in Cam Talbot. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Blues have goaltending concerns in their own right. Jordan Binnington, the hero of the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup championship run, has been erratic ever since. Binnington is in danger of losing the net to the improved Ville Husso come playoff time.
The St. Louis Blues will host the Minnesota Wild at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. This game will take place on Saturday, April 16, 2022, at 3 p.m. ET, with television coverage on ESPN+ and ABC.
NHL Betting Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
The Minnesota Wild has been one of the blandest teams on the board since its founding in 2000. In most seasons, the Wild is good but not great. When gamblers look at the board and see the Wild, they go “meh.” Minnesota has never had a top-of-the-line goal scorer who can take over a game or a dominant goalie who can consistently steal matches.
The Blues rode Jordan Binnington’s hot hand to the 2019 Stanley Cup championship. However, gamblers have become weary of Binnington’s inconsistency. The Blues have shown better form heading into the stretch drive with Ville Husso between the pipes.
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota brings a record of 44-21-6 with 40-28 over the total. NHL metrics show Minnesota ranked 5th for goal scoring, 19th for power play efficiency, 18th for goals against, and 25th for penalty killing. Minnesota has won seven of their last ten games, with four of their most recent six games going over the total.
Marc-Andre Fleury is best known for being the marquee man of the Vegas Golden Knights franchise when they began play in 2017-18. Shockingly, Fleury was traded last summer to the Chicago Blackhawks. But at the 2022 trade deadline, the Hawks moved Fleury to the Wild. Minnesota was looking for experience and quality between the pipes. Fleury backstopped the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup championship and was the goalie for the Golden Knights when they went to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.
St. Louis Blues
St. Louis brings a record of 42-20-10 with 36-32 over the total. NHL metrics show St. Louis ranked 4th for goal scoring, 3rd for power play efficiency, 11th for goals against, and 6th for penalty killing. The Blues have won seven of their last eight games, with five of their previous seven outings going over the total.
Goaltender Ville Husso began the year as the backup to Jordan Binnington but is taking over the net with superior play. Husso has a record of 22-6-5 with a .924 save percentage and 2.38 goals against average. The Blues have won six of Husso’s last seven starts.
By contrast, the Blues have lost five of their last six games with Binnington between the pipes. Binnington is 14-13-4 with a .901 save percentage and a 3.18 goals against average. Binnington has not come close to matching his production in 2018-19 when he backstopped the Blues to their Stanley Cup title.
Minnesota vs. St. Louis Prediction
Minnesota is 5-9 and 9-3-1 over/under the total in away games. St. Louis is 6-4 and 6-4 over/under the total in home games.
In sum, St. Louis is 11-2 vs. Minnesota. The Blues and Wild are 6-1 over/under the total. And then at St. Louis, the Wild are 0-6 against the Blues. These teams are 3-2 over/under the total at St. Louis.
St. Louis owns this head-to-head series, which is not expected to change on Saturday.
BookMaker Pick: St. Louis Blues
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