Vancouver Canucks vs St. Louis Blues Predictions, Game 2 Picks, Betting Tips 8/14/2020

Game: Vancouver Canucks vs St. Louis Blues

Date: Friday, August 14, 2020

Location: Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB

TV: NHL Network

Odds/Point Spread: Canucks (+126) Blues (-156)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Jacob Markstrom and the Vancouver Canucks travel to Rogers Place on Friday where they'll meet the St. Louis Blues. Vancouver leads the series 1-0. The Blues open this game at -156 while the Canucks are priced at +126. The O/U opens at 5.5. The Canucks are covering 49.2% of the time, having gone 32-33 SU. St. Louis covers 58.0% of the time, going 40-29 straight up.

The Vancouver Canucks head into this game holding a record of 36 wins and 27 losses, which puts them at 4th in the Pacific Division. During the year thus far, they have scored a total of 224 goals which ranks them 3rd in the West and 10th in the NHL. Their goal differential is +10, which puts them at 13th in the NHL. The Canucks have earned a total of 78 pts, which ranks them 20th in the NHL and 9th in the West. When looking at shots at the opposition, they have earned a total of 2,153 which ranks them 10th in the Western Conference and 22nd in the NHL. As a unit, Vancouver has racked up a total of 1,292 hits which has them averaging 18.7 per game. They have earned a total of 915 blocks for the season. The man in the crease for Vancouver is Jacob Markstrom from Gavle, Sweden. He is 30 years old and has totaled 2,552 minutes protecting the goal this year. Markstrom is allowing 2.75 goals per contest which has him ranked 14th among West goalies and 29th in the NHL among goalies. So far this season, he has surrendered 117 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .918 which has him ranked 10th among West goalies.

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The Canucks were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 5 - 2 win against the Blues in Game 1. The Canucks had a good offensive performance in the win. For the game, they earned a goal on 5 of the 22 shots they attempted. Moreover, they had 6 power play attempts and were able to notch 3 goals out of those chances. Vancouver earned 16 penalty minutes in this game. The Corsi for the Canucks sat at 36 and the Corsi against was 54 which tells us they had a Corsi percentage of 40.0%. Their Fenwick sat at 27 while the Fenwick against sat at 38, which earned them a rate of 41.5%. They earned 25 face-off wins at even strength and lost 28 of all total face-offs. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 57.4% and they had a PDO at even strength of 108.7 for this one. In discussing stats from the opponent, the St. Louis Blues earned a total of 31 shots. They finished with 22 penalty minutes and they earned 3 power play attempts.

The Blues will be the team across the ice and for the year they have 42 wins and 19 defeats. With reference to goal differential, they are currently sitting 2nd in the conference and 5th in the league with +33. They currently have a total of 223 goals for this season which is 4th in the Western Conference. St. Louis has a save % as a team of .910 which has them sitting 10th in the league, meaning there should be some chances to score. They have a team shooting percentage of 10.2% ranking them 5th in the West. In goal for St. Louis is Jordan Binnington who is having an average year by allowing 2.56 goals per contest and that places him 6th among West goaltenders and 15th in the NHL among goaltenders. In the 2,948 minutes he has played, he's given up 126 goals. His save % is .912, which has him sitting 18th among West goaltenders and 32nd in the NHL among goaltenders.

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In Game 1 St. Louis had a 60.0% Corsi rating. They ended up with that by earning a Corsi of 54 while they surrendered a Corsi of 36. Their Fenwick percentage was 58.5% with a Fenwick of 38 and the Canucks having a 27 Fenwick. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that St. Louis had and you can safely assume that they'll look to improve in their next outing. Their PDO was 91.3 and their oZS percentage was 42.6%. The Blues notched 2 goals of the 31 shots on goal they took. They had 3 power play attempts in this game and were able to net 1 out of those opportunities. Regarding the opposition, the Canucks had 6 power play chances and came through by scoring 3 goals. St. Louis allowed 22 shots on goal and the Canucks racked up a total of 16 minutes in the box.

Who will win tonight's hockey game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Vancouver (+126)

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