Vegas Golden Knights at St. Louis Blues NHL Picks & Predictions 1/4/2018

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Scottrade Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Vegas Golden Knights head to Scottrade Center to take on the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, January 4, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Golden Knights at +104 and the Blues at -115.

Vegas has a record of 27-9-2 this year and away from home they have a record of 10-7-1-1. They are 1st in the Pacific Division. They have tallied 135 goals and surrendered 106 goals for a point differential of +29. For the year they have an ATS mark of 27-11-0 and an over/under record of 22-14-0. St. Louis has a record of 25-15-2 including 14-8-0-0 on home ice this year. They are 2nd in the Central Division. They've scored 122 goals and have given up 104 for a goal differential of +18. Their record against the spread is 25-17-0 while their over/under mark is 16-26-0.

Valuable Vegas Golden Knights Betting Trends

The Vegas Golden Knights are 27-11-0 straight up this year

The Vegas Golden Knights are 22-14-0 against the over/under this season

Important St. Louis Blues Betting Trends

The St. Louis Blues are 25-17-0 straight up this year

The St. Louis Blues are 16-26-0 against the over/under this season

Key Vegas Golden Knights Injuries

12/17/17 D Luca Sbisa Lower Body IR (12/13)
11/30/17 LW William Carrier Upper Body IR (11/26)
10/31/17 GO Oscar Dansk Lower Body IR (10/30)
10/06/17 D Clayton Stoner Abdominal IR (10/02)

Key St. Louis Blues Injuries

12/17/17 LW Samuel Blais Lower Body IR (12/16)
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)

Player Spotlight

James Neal has scored 27 total points this year for the Golden Knights. He has 17 goals this season with 106 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 10 assists on the year and averages 17.4 minutes played per contest. David Perron averages 17.6 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by tallying 9 goals on 55 attempts. He has 22 assists, giving him a total of 31 points on the year. Marc-Andre Fleury has 8 wins and 2 losses this season in goal for the Golden Knights. He has 317 shots against him and he's surrendered 18 goals. He's made 299 stops for a save percentage of 94%.

Player Spotlight

Vladimir Tarasenko has 39 total points this season for the Blues. He has 17 goals this year with 173 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 22 assists on the year and averages 19.9 minutes played per contest. Brayden Schenn averages 19.7 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 17 goals on 112 attempts. He has 24 assists, giving him a total of 41 points on the year. 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%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Golden Knights have 56 total points this year, which is 2nd in the NHL. They've scored 135 goals while giving up 106 scores, which has them ranked 5th and 26th respectively. They have had 127 power play chances and scored 24 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 19%. That is 19th in the league. The Golden Knights have given up 117 power play opportunities and surrendered 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 21st when short-handed. They average 32 shots per contest and as a team shoot 11.01% for the year. They allow 30 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 18th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blues are 6th in the league with a total of 52 points this season. They have 22 power play goals on 146 chances for a percentage of 15%. That is 28th in the NHL. They've given up 130 power play opportunities and surrendered 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking 11th overall. As a team, the Blues are 12th with a total of 122 goals scored while they've given up 104 goals this season, ranking 27th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.76%. As a unit they give up 30 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them 8th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Vegas is 13th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.9%, as they've attempted 2,293 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,214 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.7% as they have 1,712 attempts while they have given up 1,600 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 10th in the league. The Golden Knights start possessions in the offensive zone 50.6% of the time, which is 19th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the season. That is 20th overall in the NHL. They have 1,187 face-off wins compared to 1,191 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.9%. That ranks them 20th in the league. On defense Vegas has 727 hits and they have blocked 614 shots from the opposition, putting them 8th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blues are 17th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49% for the season, which is 18th in the NHL. They have 1,276 face-off wins compared to 1,281 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.9%. That is 19th in the league. On defense St. Louis has 934 hits and they have blocked 635 shots from the opposition, which is 3rd in the league. St. Louis is 12th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.4% as they've attempted 2,492 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,359 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.3% ranks 8th as they have 1,892 attempts while they have given up 1,724 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Vegas +104

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