St. Louis Blues vs Minnesota Wild Prediction, 1/1/2022 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Blues vs Minnesota Wild

Date: Saturday, January 1, 2022

Location: Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN

TV: Bally Sports North

Odds/Point Spread: Blues (+110) Wild (-135)

The Minnesota Wild (19-9-2) will take on the St. Louis Blues (18-9-5) at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday. The moneyline on this matchup has the Blues at +110 and the Wild are coming in at -135. The total comes in at 6.

The St. Louis Blues were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 4-2 victory over the Oilers in their previous game. St. Louis had 8 penalty minutes in this matchup. Additionally, they had 4 power play tries and were able to net 1 goal. The Blues had a good offensive output in the win. For the matchup, they scored on 4 of the 33 shots they put on net.

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The Blues have had 1,018 shots attempted against them and have a save percentage of .917. When playing at even strength, the Blues have allowed 71 goals while scoring 81 of their own. St. Louis Blues opponents have totaled 83 power play opportunities (24th in the league) and have notched 14 goals in those attempts. For the season, they have accumulated 41 points and their points % is .641. St. Louis has taken 1,038 shots and has a shot percentage of 10.4%. When it comes to their scoring, the St. Louis Blues have racked up 108 goals (6th in the NHL) for the season and have given up 85. St. Louis has 92 power play chances and they have added 27 goals out of those tries, giving them a percentage of 29.35%.

The man protecting the goal in this game is Jordan Binnington. Binnington has played in 143 games over the course of his hockey career. He has amassed an overall record of 81-38-19 and he has started in 139 games. Opponents have been able to score 345 goals versus Binnington in his pro career and his goals against average per game is 2.47. Binnington has seen 4,016 shots taken against him and has accrued 3,671 saves. He has a save percentage of .914 during his 8,368 minutes on the ice. From the beginning of his pro career to now, Binnington is sitting with 76 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is at .547.

When they were on the ice last, Minnesota faced off against the Stars in an outing where the Wild went home in defeat by a score of 7-4. The Wild converted 4 goals of the 23 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 3 power play attempts in this matchup and converted 1 goal out of those opportunities.

So far this year, the Minnesota Wild have tallied 109 goals, 40 points, in addition to a points percentage of .667. They have granted a total of 90 goals to be scored by way of 70 goals at even strength and 20 goals while they were shorthanded. The Wild are sitting with 92 goals at even strength and 17 goals (19th in hockey) while having a power play advantage. They have recorded 97 power play chances and they have a power play rate of 17.53%. Minnesota has put up 986 shots (13th in professional hockey) and has a shooting percentage of 11.05%, while allowing their opponents 958 shots. They have a penalty kill percentage of 81.13% on their oppositions 106 power play chances, and their save percentage comes in at 90.6%.

Across the ice you are likely to see Cam Talbot defending the net. He is sitting with 10,009 saves out of the 10,937 shots attempted, giving him a save % of .915. Talbot holds a career mark of 184-137-31 and has played in 370 games. He has made the start in 356 games and has racked up 21,235 mins. Talbot's rate of quality starts comes in at 53.1% and he has made 189 quality starting assignments in his pro hockey career. Opponents are averaging 2.62 goals per game and he has allowed 928 goals in total.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Minnesota (-135)

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