Squaring off for the third and final time this season, the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues conclude the seasons at the Enterprise Center in a Western Conference tilt. The opening face-off is at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 6, and it can be viewed live on Sportsnet Pacific.
Vancouver Canucks at St. Louis Blues Odds
Playing the role of heavy favorites will be the Blues (-280), while the Canucks are offering moneyline odds of +240 and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The odds for betting that total stand at -120 for the over and +100 for the under.
St. Louis is 44-37 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 0.8 units this season. That winning percentage, ranked 3rd in the Central Division in this young season, hasn’t moved much from the 44-38 record the team produced during last year’s regular season campaign. 42 of the team’s 81 outings have gone under the total, while 34 have gone over and just five have pushed. The team’s 23-17 SU at home this year.
The Blues have converted on 20.9 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated seventh overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 82.2 percent of all penalties.
Sporting a .905 save percentage and 25.1 saves per game, Jake Allen (19-27-8) has been the best goalkeeper for the Blue Notes this season. If St. Louis decides to give him a breather, however, the team could turn to Jordan Binnington (23-8-8 record, .927 save percentage, 1.89 goals against average).
Vancouver is 35-46 straight up (SU) and has earned 1.9 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 81 regular season contests, 46 of its games have gone under the total, while 31 have gone over and just four have pushed. The Canucks are 15-25 SU as the away team this season.
The Canucks have converted on just 16.5 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s ranked 25th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 10th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.3 percent of all penalties.
Jacob Markstrom (.912 save percentage and 2.77 goals against average) has been the main option in goal for Vancouver. Markstrom is averaging 28.8 saves per game and owns a 28-32-9 record.
Vancouver Canucks vs. St. Louis Blues Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- Over St. Louis’ last ten outings, five of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 4-1 in those games).
- Power-play opportunities could have a critical role in the outcome of this matchup. The Canucks are 11-21 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 22-30 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, in total. The Blues are 21-19 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 32-25 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Three of St. Louis’ last ten games have been decided by a shootout. The team is 1-2 in those games and 2-3 overall in shootouts this year.
- For both of these clubs, the game went over the total in three of their past five matchups.
- Vancouver has averaged 7.8 giveaways over its last five home games, its season average of 7.5 giveaways per game (the fifth-fewest in the league).
- St. Louis is ranked 4th this season with just 7.4 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as it’s averaged 5.4 giveaways over its last 10 games and 5.4 giveaways over its last five.
