Apparently a loss to the lowly Canadiens was a wakeup call for the St. Louis Blues. Since falling to the team with the fewest wins in the NHL two weeks ago, the Blues have won four straight outscoring their opponent 19-7 in that stretch. They kicked off a four-game road trip Sunday with a 4-0 win over Chicago and open a swing through the New York metropolitan area with a matchup against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. It’ll be nearly two years to the day that the team’s last played, a 3-1 St. Louis victory on Mar. 3, 2020, the Blues second straight over the Blueshirts.
The matchup between the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, from Madison Square Garden in New York, NY and will air live on TNT. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Wednesday NHL schedule.
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Odds Analysis
The Blues improved to 32-14-6 with their win over Chicago, their fourth straight and sixth in the last seven games. As mentioned the lone setback over that time was in overtime to Montreal on Feb. 17. A strong defensive team over the past several seasons, the Blues have seen an uptick in their goal production leading to a plus-37 goal differential. That’s allowed St. Louis to go 31-21 against the puck line with each of their past 10 wins all by at least two goals. The best teams are always good on special teams and the Blues haven’t disappointed. They have the second-best power play in the league scoring on 27 percent of their extra man chances while killing penalties at an 85 percent clip.
Led by Vezina Trophy candidate Igor Shesterkin in goal, the Rangers have been solid defensively allowing the third-fewest goals against. They play a similar style to that of the Blues without as much flare offensively. They’ve scored three goals or less in nine of their past 11 games cashing the UNDER eight times in that stretch. And the Rangers will look to put a lost weekend behind them. They lost consecutive games getting blanked 1-0 by the Penguins on Saturday and 5-2 to Vancouver on Sunday. The Rangers have yet to lose three straight games in regulation this season.
St. Louis Blues
During their current winning streak the Blues resemble the team that won the Stanley Cup a few years ago playing a heavy game forcing opponents into mistakes. It also helps that goalie Jordan Binnington appears to be back in form. Binnington tossed his second shutout of the season on Sunday and has allowed only one goal in his last two starts. He had conceded the starting job to Ville Husso with his inconsistent play, but now having two solid stoppers in net only makes the Blues tougher to beat.
The offense will have to click in order to beat the Rangers. St. Louis averages 3.6 goals per game and has scored at least four times in seven of its last eight games. And they do it with balance having six players net at least 16 goals. They are dangerous on the power play and killing penalties with seven shorthanded goals, the second-most in the NHL.
New York Rangers
The Rangers have been one of the better home teams in the league this season going 17-5-3 inside MSG with impressive wins over Washington, Boston and Florida in their previous four home tilts. They came up short against Vancouver on Sunday and had their six-game point streak stopped at six in Saturday’s shutout loss. For a team with talented offensive players goals have been hard to come by recently. They are averaging less than 2.5 goals over the past 11 games.
“The work ethic is there. The compete is there. We just have to find ways to bear down sometimes and get that goal,” Dylan Strome said. While they payout over 62 percent of the time on the moneyline, the Rangers are 26-27 on the puck line with the UNDER going 33-18.
NHL Odds Pick
Two strong defensive teams that like to force opponents into mistakes puts plenty of value on the UNDER. Shesterkin has made Ranger fans forget all about Henrik Lundqvist with his stellar play. Shesterkin leads the league in GAA and save percentage while winning 25 games. He doesn’t need much offense and that’s a good thing since the Blueshirts have struggled to put the puck in the net. The Blues have an edge in that department and getting a few past the New York netminder makes all the difference.
NHL Odds Prediction: St. Louis Blues 3, New York Rangers 2
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