Compared to Monday’s slate of games, Tuesday is much better. The NHL has 10 games going tonight with some incredible matchups. Some of the best games tonight include:
- Carolina Hurricanes @ Winnipeg Jets
- Florida Panthers @ St. Louis Blues
- Minnesota Wild @ Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers @ St. Louis Blues
- Time: 8:00 PM ET
- TV Coverage: ESPN+
- Florida Panthers: 17-4-3, 1st Atlantic (3-3-3 Away)
- St. Louis Blues: 12-8-4, 2nd Central (7-3-1 Home)
| Team | Opening ML | Current ML | Spread | Total |
| Florida Panthers | -106 | -125 | -1.5 (+200) | o6.0 (-120) |
| St. Louis Blues | -104 | +105 | +1.5 (-240) | u6.0 (+100) |
Trends:
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis’ last 5 games.
- St. Louis are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games at home.
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Florida’s last 5 games.
- Florida are 0-6 SU in their last 6 games on the road.
Preview:
St. Louis looks to split games against Florida as they lost on the road 4-3 in a Shootout on Saturday. Despite the close score, Florida won the Expected Goal battle 5.46 to 1.97. Ville Husso had a great game with a +2.46 GSAx while Sergei Bobrovsky struggled with a -1.02 GSAx.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers look to extend their three game winning streak but, are in a tough spot here facing the same team twice.
During that three game stretch, the Panthers have averaged 5.33 Goals For, which is higher than their season average of 3.83. Florida has one of the best Goals For Per 60 averaging 3.11. Although, they do have a -2.02 Goals For Above Expected. The Panthers also have the best xGoal % in the NHL with a 57.32%. With the crazy rate at which they’re generating scoring opportunities, they haven’t been able to capitalize on all of them, hence the negative Goals For Above Expected. This doesn’t worry me at all because they still have one of the best Goals For Per 60. Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team in points with 29 through 24 games. He has at least one point in his last three games in along with Aaron Ekblad. Nick Acciari, Anthony Duclair, and Mason Marchment are out for the Panthers tonight on offense. Aleksander Barkov, is questionable for tonight’s game.
Defensively, Florida has also been solid with a -5.93 Goals Against Above Expected. The Panthers are averaging 2.09 Goals Against Per 60, ranking 11th. One area of concern for this Florida defense has been in terms of High Danger Shots. The Panthers have given up 46 High Danger Shots Against which, is near the bottom of the league. They also haven’t been great on the Penalty Kill with a 81.9% success rate (17th). Gustav Forsling is questionable for tonight’s game as he’s recovering from an undisclosed injury.
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to get the start tonight with a +13.1 GSAx on the season. In his last game, which was against the Blues, he struggled with a -1.02 GSAx as previously mentioned.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues started the season off hot like Florida but, have regressed a bit since then as one may expect. However, the Blues have been great at home with a 7-3-1 record and look to bounce back against a similar foe.
Offensively the St. Louis Blues have been good averaging 2.45 Goals For Per 60. Although, they do have one of the lowest xGoal % in the NHL with a 47.14%. The Blues Power Play has been one of the best ranking 2nd converting at a rate of 30.3%. St. Louis has been good at converting on scoring opportunities with a +1.09 Goals For Above Expected. Jordan Kyrou leads the Blues in points with 23 through 24 games. Pavel Buchnevich has been one of the hot players as of late tallying at least a point in five of the last six games. The Blues are without Klim Kostin, and Tyler Bozak on offense. David Perron is questionable for tonight’s game as he recovers from an upper body injury.
The Blues defensively have a -9.73 Goals Against Above Expected which ranks 7th. St. Louis is averaging 2.2 Goals Against Per 60. However, the have allowed 47 High Danger Shots Against which could be an issue here against this high powered Florida offense. In the last two games, the Blues have allowed an average of 4 goals per game. Ville Husso is expected to start in net tonight. His last start was against Florida where he had a +2.46 GSAx. On the year, he has a +4.4 GSAx in his six games played. Husso has been filling in for Jordan Binnington while he’s out indefinitely with Covid-19.
Pick:
- FLORIDA PANTHERS 3-WAY MONEYLINE (+130)
- The Panthers were better analytically in their last game vs St. Louis and should have had an easier win. I expected Sergei Bobrovsky to rebound here with a better effort in net. Florida is around a -130 moneyline but, I expect them to handle things in regulation.
Other Plays for Tonight:
- CALGARY FLAMES 3-WAY MONEYLINE (+105)
- The Flames have been good on the road this year and look to rebound against a tough loss vs Vegas on Sunday night. While San Jose has been slightly above .500 at home, Calgary has the significant advantage in net. I’ll take Calgary at a + money opportunity in this matchup.
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.
