St. Louis Blues vs. Carolina Hurricanes Free Prediction 3/1/19

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The St. Louis Blues, spearheaded by Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko, are set to take the ice against Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, and the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena in an East-West showdown. The opening face-off takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, March 1, and fans at home are able to catch it live on Fox Sports Midwest.

St. Louis Blues vs. Carolina Hurricanes Odds

St. Louis (-105) is playing the role of underdog to Carolina (-115), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting that total sit at -125 for the under and +105 for the over.

Carolina is 34-29 straight-up (SU) and has lost 6.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. That early-season winning percentage is a welcomed improvement compared to what the team managed during last year’s regular season (36-46). Of its 63 games this season, 25 have gone under the total, while 25 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team’s 17-14 SU at home this season.

The Hurricanes have converted on 17.8 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 10th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 81.1 percent of all penalties.

With a .903 save percentage and 24.0 saves per game, Petr Mrazek (15-15-3) has been the top option in goal for the Canes this year. If Carolina decides to give him a rest, however, the team could roll with Curtis McElhinney (16-8-8 record, .923 save percentage, 2.25 goals against average).

St. Louis has earned 4.5 units for moneyline bettors this season and is currently 34-29 straight up (SU). Through 63 regular season outings, 35 of its games have gone under the total, while 25 have gone over and just three have pushed. The Blues are 17-14 SU as an away team this season.

The Blues have converted on 19.3 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 10th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.3 percent of all opponent power plays.

Jake Allen (.902 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for St. Louis. Allen is averaging 24.8 saves per game and has 17 wins, 22 losses, and five OT losses to his credit.

St. Louis Blues at Carolina Hurricanes Betting Predictions

Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Hurricanes, O/U – Under

Betting Trends

  • Six of Carolina’s last ten contests have been decided by two or more goals. The club is 6-0 overall in those games.
  • The Blues are 17-13 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 23-17 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
  • St. Louis is 1-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Carolina is 1-2 in shootouts.
  • The total has gone under in four of St. Louis’ last five outings.
  • St. Louis skaters have averaged 6.8 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 7.5 giveaways per game (the sixth-fewest in the league).
  • Carolina is ranked 22nd this season with 11.5 giveaways per game. That figure has regressed lately, as it’s averaged 13.0 giveaways over its last 10 games and 14.0 giveaways over its last five.
  • The Canes this season have tallied the seventh-most hits in the league (25.2 per game).