St. Louis Blues at Washington Capitals NHL Picks & Predictions 1/7/2018

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Capital One Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The St. Louis Blues travel to Capital One Arena to play the Washington Capitals on Sunday, January 7, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Blues at +131 and the Capitals at -145.

St. Louis has a record of 26-15-2 this season and on the road they have a record of 11-7-2-0. They are 2nd in the Central Division. They've scored 124 goals and given up 105 goals for a point differential of +19. For the season they have an ATS record of 26-17-0 and an over/under record of 16-27-0. Washington is 25-13-3 including 16-5-0-0 at home this season. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 128 goals and surrendered 117 for a goal differential of +11. Their record against the spread is 25-16-0 while their over/under record is 23-18-0.

Valuable St. Louis Blues Betting Trends

The St. Louis Blues are 26-17-0 straight up this year

The St. Louis Blues are 16-27-0 against the over/under this season

Important Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 25-16-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 23-18-0 against the over/under this season

Key St. Louis Blues Injuries

12/10/17 LW Jaden Schwartz Ankle IR (12/08)
10/07/17 LW Zachary Sanford Shoulder IR (10/01)
09/27/17 C Robby Fabbri ACL IR (10/01)
01/05/18 D Vince Dunn Illness is downgraded to OUT Saturday vs Philadelphia & Sunday vs Washington

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

01/02/18 D Matt Niskanen Upper Body is "?" Sunday vs St Louis

Player Spotlight

Vladimir Tarasenko has accumulated 39 total points this season for the Blues. He has 17 goals this year with 179 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 19.8 minutes played per game. Brayden Schenn averages 19.7 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 17 goals on 113 shots. He has 25 assists, giving him a total of 42 points on the season. Jake Allen has 18 wins and 12 losses this season in net for the Blues. He has 929 shots against him and he's given up 81 goals. He's made 848 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Alex Ovechkin has scored 43 total points this year for the Capitals. He has 26 goals this season with 181 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 17 assists on the season and averages 19.5 minutes played per game. Nicklas Backstrom averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 8 goals on 71 shots. He has 25 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the season. Braden Holtby has 23 wins and 8 losses this year in goal for the Capitals. He has 962 shots against him and he's surrendered 80 goals. He's made 882 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blues have 54 total points this season, which ranks them 4th in the NHL. They are 12th in the league in goals scored with 124 while they've given up 105 goals, ranking them 27th overall. They have had 148 power play opportunities and have scored 22 goals on those chances for a percentage of 15%. That is 28th in the NHL. The Blues have allowed 131 power play opportunities and have given up 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, putting them 10th in the league when short-handed. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.67% for the season. They allow 30 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 5th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals are 6th in the NHL with a total of 53 points this year. They have 24 power play goals on 125 opportunities for a percentage of 19%. That ranks them 16th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 142 power play opportunities and have given up 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%. That is 21st in the NHL. As a team, the Capitals are 7th in the league with 128 goals scored while they've given up 117 goals, which is 20th overall. They average 29 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.86%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%. That is 15th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

St. Louis has a Corsi percentage of 51.3% as they've tried 2,559 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,427 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 12th in Corsi percentage. They are 8th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 52.4% as they have 1,943 shots while they've given up 1,767 attempts on defense. The Blues start possessions in the offensive zone 51% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49% for the year. That puts them 16th and 18th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,307 face-off wins as opposed to 1,301 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.1%. That is 20th overall in the NHL. On defense St. Louis has 950 hits and they've blocked 660 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 2nd in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Capitals are 20th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.7% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.3% for the season, which is 12th in the NHL. They have 1,249 face-off wins compared to 1,186 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.3%. That is 14th in the league. On defense Washington has 926 hits and they have blocked 603 shots from the opposition, which is 18th in the league. Washington is 28th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.8% as they've attempted 2,270 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,475 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 47% ranks 30th as they have 1,658 attempts while they have given up 1,872 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Washington -145

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Guy Bruhn