Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, and the St. Louis Blues are set to do battle against Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena in an East-West tilt. The match will get going at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 7, and it can be viewed live on Fox Sports Midwest.
St. Louis Blues vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
St. Louis (+165) is playing the role of underdog to Tampa Bay (-190), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals (-125 for the under, +105 for the over).
Tampa Bay is 39-14 straight-up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 16.3 units this year. That win percentage, the league’s best so far in the early season, is an improvement compared to how the team performed during the 2017-18 season (54-28). Through 53 regular season outings, 27 of the team’s games have gone over the total, while 24 have gone under and just two have pushed. Thus far, the team is 20-6 SU at home.
The Lightning enter the matchup with the second-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as they have converted on 29.3 percent of their extra-man opportunities this season. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked second overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 84.3 percent of all penalties.
With a .926 save percentage and 30.5 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (21-10-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Bolts this season. If the Bolts choose to give him a breather, however, head coach Jon Cooper could turn to Louis Domingue (17-4-4 record, .906 save percentage, 2.95 goals against average).
Over on the other bench, St. Louis is 24-27 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.5 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 26 of its games have gone under the total, while 22 have gone over and just three have pushed. As an away team so far, the Blues are 12-12 SU.
The Blues have converted on 19.2 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 22nd overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
Jake Allen (.897 save percentage and 3.04 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for St. Louis. Allen is averaging 24.0 saves per game and owns a 15-21-4 record.
St. Louis Blues vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The Lightning (4-1 in shootouts) has more shootout experience coming into this one. The Blues fell short in its only shootout this season.
- The under has hit in four of Tampa Bay’s last five games.
- Over St. Louis’ last ten games, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-1 in those games).
- The Lightning this season have dished out the seventh-most hits per game in the NHL (25.4).
