Ice Hockey | Wednesday, November 16, 2022 10:24 AM

Chicago Blackhawks vs St. Louis Blues Best Bet: A Central Division Showdown

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US Sports Expert

Chicago Blackhawks vs St. Louis Blues Best Bet: Wednesday, November 16th

Well, it’s not one of the most anticipated matches of the week, but we only have a trio of games to pick from today so let’s take it to the Windy City. Our resident pucks expert Ej Garr is irked that we fell short on Monday but if anyone knows how to rebound it’s him. Show us some more value Ej!

In this article:

Chicago Blackhawks vs St. Louis Blues Preview

November 17, 00:30 (UK time)

The St. Louis Blues will be looking to pick up their fourth straight win after a rough patch of results that still has them in the Central Division basement. Now up to 12 points, at least the Blues are a little closer to the pack as they’ve doubled their points output for the year just like that!

Luckily, it is still early in the new campaign to not let a poor start take a toll, and the Blues have gotten back to playing defense and trusting in Mr. Binnington again. Jordan Binnington (6 – 5; 3.07 GAA) has only given up 10 goals over his four starts to bring that goals-against average down to a respectable number where he has been the last few years.

Staying on Binnington’s stats for a moment, you’ll remember that he has only managed back-to-back 18 – 14 campaigns after those two incredible seasons. His numbers from the 2018 and 2019 season’s produced 54 wins and only 18 losses (Cup Win in ‘19), so the 32 – 28 over the last 2 years leaves much room for improvement.

Binnington is expected to be paired up with Petr Mrazek (1.- 2 – 1; 3.16 GAA), but getting goal-support for either Hawks netminder has been tough to find of late. Chicago came out of the gate looking like a team that was going to get back to firing on all cylinders, scoring goals, and giving the fans a show. Yeah, not so much anymore! Since that 6 – 5 affair with Edmonton on October 27, Chicago has gone 8 straight games without scoring more than 3 goals. That’s not a quick run of poor showings, that is nearly 3 weeks of being unable to find the net and that is a concern for me.

You know I missed my 1st-period call on Monday with the Blues, and that game ended 3 – 2 to really make me feel like doggie doo-doo for that. I always want to apologize when I miss a tip, so I am sorry for that one! This offer is not just because of the Monday result as much as it is just these two teams playing the way they are right now.

This is a 2 – 2 game waiting to unfold, but I am turning to the total in regulation because of the number. I am seeing the Under 6 in regulation time at 1.91, and that is more than fair to me.