St. Louis Blues vs Minnesota Wild Prediction, 4/29/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds
![Justin Faulk St. Louis Blues](http://www.docsports.com/images/lib/large/justin-faulk-st-louis-blues.jpg)
Game: St. Louis Blues vs Minnesota Wild
Date: Thursday, April 29, 2021
Location: Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN
TV: Bally Sports Midwest
Odds/Point Spread: Blues (+120) Wild (-140)
Kaapo Kahkonen and the Minnesota Wild (31-13-3) host the St. Louis Blues (21-19-6) at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday. The line on this contest has the Blues coming in at +120 and the Wild are at -140. The O/U opens at 5.5.
The Blues were on the winning side of the scoreboard with a 4-1 victory against the Avalanche in their last contest. The Blues had a good offensive output in this victory. In the game, they scored on 4 out of the 20 shots they put on net. Furthermore, they had 2 power play attempts and were able to net 1 goal. St. Louis accrued 4 mins in the box in this game. The Corsi for the Blues was 28 and the Corsi against was 60 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 31.8%. Their Fenwick came in at 25 and the Fenwick against was 39, meaning the had a Fenwick percentage of 39.1%. They had 22 face-off wins when at even strength and lost on 20 attempts to control the puck. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 39.1% and their PDO rating was 115.8 for this game.
The Blues have had 1,376 shots tried against them and hold a save percentage of .898. At even strength, the Blues have conceded 104 goals while notching 105 on the offensive side of the ice. St. Louis Blues opponents have 150 power play tries (11th in the league) and have notched 37 goals in those attempts. For the current campaign, they have tallied 48 points and their points percentage sits at .522. St. Louis has taken 1,361 shots and holds a shooting percentage of 9.8%. With respect to their goal scoring prowess, the St. Louis Blues have earned 133 goals (19th in the National Hockey League) this year and have surrendered 141. St. Louis has accumulated 135 power play chances and they have scored 28 goals out of those tries, garnering them a percentage of 20.74%.
The man protecting the goal in this game is Ville Husso. For his professional hockey career, Husso is sitting with 6 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is at .500. His save percentage currently is .887 in his 735 mins in the crease. Husso has had 371 shots against him and has amassed 329 saves. Opponents have scored 42 goals against Husso in his career and his average for goals against per game is 3.43. He has amassed a win-loss mark of 7-5-1 and got the start in 12 games. Husso has taken the ice for 14 contests over the course of his hockey career.
Their last time out, Minnesota went up against the Sharks in a game where the Wild got the victory by a tally of 6-3. Minnesota had a 49.5% Corsi rate. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Minnesota played and it was an excellent showing for this outing. Their Fenwick percentage was 44.9% by earning a Fenwick of 31 and the Sharks having a 38 Fenwick at even strength. Their PDO at even strength was 109 and their percentage of oZS was 62.5%. The Wild recorded 6 goals of the 26 shots on goal they tried. They had 3 power play chances in this contest and recorded 1 out of those attempts.
Minnesota has taken 1,316 shots (29th in professional hockey) and has accumulated a shooting percentage of 11.40%, while allowing their opponents 1,454 shots. They have earned a penalty kill percentage of 84.03% on their opponents 144 power play chances, and their save percentage currently sits at 91.6%. They have a tally of 145 power play opportunities and they have a power play percentage of 18.62%. The Wild have accumulated 123 goals at even strength and 27 goals (20th in the NHL) while having a power play advantage. They have granted a total of 122 goals to be scored by way of 99 goals at even strength and 23 goals while they were shorthanded. On the campaign, the Minnesota Wild have accumulated 150 goals, 65 points, and a points percentage of .691.
Across the rink you are likely to see Kaapo Kahkonen protecting the net. Kahkonen has earned a lifetime mark of 17-8-1 and has played in 26 games. Kahkonen's quality start rate comes out to 52.0% and he has accumulated 13 quality starting assignments in his professional career. He has tallied 711 stops out of 781 shots tried, giving him a save % of .910. Teams are averaging 2.73 goals per game and he has given up 70 goals altogether. He has started in 25 games and his ice time sits at 1,537 minutes.
Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?
Josh's Pick: Take St. Louis (+120)
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Additional Resources:
Minnesota Wild - Twitter
St. Louis Blues - Twitter