Here’s the write-up for tonight:
St. Louis Blues @ New York Rangers: BLUES 1.85
Risk: 2 Units | Win: 1.70 Units
The Rangers were held scoreless in regulation time against the Jets on Saturday, firing 38 shots on goal and coming up short on all five power play opportunities. 38 shots and 5 power play tries, what more could they ask for? The Rangers lost that game 1-0 in a shootout, and are now 5-4-0-1 on the season. The Rangers have one of the least active power play units in all of the NHL, going just 7.1% on the man advantage overall (28th), and have yet to convert on the power play at Home (0.00% Home power play). The Blues on the other hand have one of the top 10 power plays right now, as they are 20.5% on the man advantage (9th overall), and have a superior 33.3% success rate on the power play on the road so far this season. When it comes to scoring, these clubs are practically even, as the Blues are scoring an average of 2.40 goals per game overall (22nd) while the Rangers are scoring 2.60 goals per game (18th). The defensive match-up isn’t as close to even though, as St. Louis has a definite advantage, as they are allowing just 1.90 goals against per game overall, giving them the 4th best defense in the NHL as of today. The Rangers are 21st overall on defense allowing 3.00 goals against per game overall, and are allowing 2.83 GA/GP when playing at Madison Square Garden. The Blues defense actually improves on the road, as they’ve allowed just 1.75 GA/GP during their three road games this season. The Blues are hot right now, winning four in a row, and have had one day to rest since their 3-2 shootout victory over Colorado. The Blues are a perfect 5-0 on one days rest this season. The Rangers will have to face this hot St. Louis club without K. Klein, J. Moore, D. Stepan, R. McDonagh, and D. Boyle. In the goal tending department we have both goaltenders confirmed for tonight. Brian Elliott will start for St. Louis and is 4-2-1 on the season with a 1.96 GAA (9th) and a .919 SV% (20th). Cam Talbot will start for New York tonight and is 0-1-0 with a 2.89 GAA and a .886 SV%. This should be an entertaining game tonight, but I don’t think the Rangers have what it takes to stop the Blues right now. The Blues advance to five wins in a row tonight against New York.
