New York Rangers at St. Louis Blues NHL Picks & Predictions 3/17/2018

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Scottrade Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New York Rangers head to Scottrade Center to take on the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, March 17, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Rangers at +171 and the Blues at -190.

New York has a record of 32-32-7 this year and away from home they have a record of 12-19-3-3. They are 7th in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 205 goals and surrendered 227 goals for a point differential of -22. For the year they have an ATS mark of 32-39-0 and an over/under record of 38-31-0. St. Louis has a record of 37-28-5 including 20-15-0-0 on home ice this year. They are 6th in the Central Division. They've scored 192 goals and have given up 186 for a goal differential of +6. Their record against the spread is 37-33-0 while their over/under mark is 27-42-0.

Valuable New York Rangers Betting Trends

The New York Rangers are 32-39-0 straight up this year

The New York Rangers are 38-31-0 against the over/under this season

Important St. Louis Blues Betting Trends

The St. Louis Blues are 37-33-0 straight up this year

The St. Louis Blues are 27-42-0 against the over/under this season

Key New York Rangers Injuries

03/13/18 D Tony DeAngelo Ankle is out indefinitely
02/15/18 D Steven Kampfer Hand IR (02/11)
02/10/18 GO Ondrej Pavelec Knee IR (02/08)
01/19/18 D Kevin Shattenkirk Knee IR (01/18)

Key St. Louis Blues Injuries

09/27/17 C Robby Fabbri ACL IR (10/01)
03/15/18 GO Carter Hutton Neck is "?" Saturday vs NY Rangers
03/05/18 D Jay Bouwmeester Hip is out for season
03/05/18 RW Scottie Upshall MCL is out indefinitely
02/09/18 D Joel Edmundson Forearm IR (02/08)

Player Spotlight

Mats Zuccarello has scored 48 total points this year for the Rangers. He has 14 goals this season with 156 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 34 assists on the year and averages 18.9 minutes played per contest. Pavel Buchnevich averages 14.9 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by tallying 14 goals on 122 attempts. He has 26 assists, giving him a total of 40 points on the year. Henrik Lundqvist has 25 wins and 23 losses this season in goal for the Rangers. He has 1,848 shots against him and he's surrendered 156 goals. He's made 1,692 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Brayden Schenn has 58 total points this season for the Blues. He has 24 goals this year with 173 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 34 assists on the year and averages 19.6 minutes played per contest. Vladimir Tarasenko averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 27 goals on 275 attempts. He has 31 assists, giving him a total of 58 points on the year. Jake Allen has 21 wins and 21 losses this season in net for the Blues. He has 1,328 shots against him and he's given up 124 goals. He's made 1,204 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Rangers have 71 total points this year, which is 22nd in the NHL. They've scored 205 goals while giving up 227 scores, which has them ranked 18th and 5th respectively. They have had 209 power play chances and scored 44 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That is 11th in the league. The Rangers have given up 216 power play opportunities and surrendered 37 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking them 5th when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.18% for the year. They allow 35 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 14th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blues are 19th in the league with a total of 79 points this season. They have 33 power play goals on 220 chances for a percentage of 15%. That is 30th in the NHL. They've given up 207 power play opportunities and surrendered 39 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking 13th overall. As a team, the Blues are 25th with a total of 192 goals scored while they've given up 186 goals this season, ranking 28th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.34%. As a unit they give up 30 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 11th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

New York is 31st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 46.9%, as they've attempted 3,922 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,445 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 47.4% as they have 3,019 attempts while they have given up 3,350 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 30th in the league. The Rangers start possessions in the offensive zone 51.2% of the time, which is 15th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.8% for the season. That is 18th overall in the NHL. They have 2,086 face-off wins compared to 2,103 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.8%. That ranks them 16th in the league. On defense New York has 1,506 hits and they have blocked 1,095 shots from the opposition, putting them 8th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blues start possessions in the offensive zone 50.2% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.8% for the year. That ranks them 18th and 14th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,089 face-off wins as opposed to 2,077 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.1%. That is 18th in the league. On defense St. Louis has 1,575 hits and they've blocked 1,095 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 9th in blocked shots. St. Louis is ranked 13th in Corsi percentage with 51% as they've tried 4,122 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,960 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 8th in the NHL at 52.3%, as they have 3,146 shots while they've given up 2,865 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Rangers/Blues NHL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take New York +171

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