The St. Louis Blues and the Florida Panthers meet in NHL action from the Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday night. Two teams who could really use a win right now, who goes out and gets it? Let’s dive in and find out with our Blues vs. Panthers Prediction.
St. Louis Blues Team Preview
The St. Louis Blues will be looking to rebound from a 6-1 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning in their last matchup. Robert Thomas leads the Blues in scoring with 32 points including team-highs of 12 goals and 20 assists while Pavel Buchnevich has 23 points split between 10 goals and 13 assists. Jordan Kyrou has 21 points with 6 goals and 15 assists while Brayden Schenn has 16 points with 8 goals and 8 assists and Kevin Hayes has 17 points with 9 goals and 8 assists as well this season. Jordan Binnington’s gone 10-10-1 with a 3.20 GAA and a .904 save percentage between the pipes for St. Louis while Joel Hofer is 5-5 with a 3.19 GAA and a .893 save percentage this season.
St. Louis Blues Team Facts
- The underdogs have won five of the Blues’ last six games.
- The Blues have covered the puck line in each of their last nine Thursday games as underdogs.
- The home team has won the second period in each of the Blues’ last five games.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Blues’ last eight games against Atlantic Division opponents.
Florida Panthers Team Preview
The Florida Panthers come into this one looking to bounce back after a 3-1 loss to Calgary to close out their west coast road trip. Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in scoring with 39 points including a team-high 18 goals and 21 assists while Aleksander Barkov has 30 points with 11 goals and 19 assists. Carter Verhaeghe has 26 points with 15 goals and 11 assists while Evan Rodrigues has 21 points with 15 assists and Matthew Tkachuk has 22 points with 17 assists of his own this season. Sergei Bobrovsky has posted a 14-8-1 mark with a 2.49 GAA and .911 save percentage in goal for Florida this season while Anthony Stolarz is 4-3-1 with a 2.18 GAA and a .915 save percentage this season.
Florida Panthers Team Facts
- The underdogs have won each of the Panthers’ last four games.
- The Panthers have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last 13 games against Central Division opponents.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in seven of the Panthers’ last eight games as favorites against Central Division opponents.
- The Panthers have lost the first period in seven of their last eight night games against Central Division opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Florida Panthers rank T4th in the league for goals against per game this season (2.58).
- The Florida Panthers rank T31st in the league for Period 2 goals scored per game this season (0.65).
- The St. Louis Blues rank 32nd in the league in power play percentage this season (10.00%).
- The St. Louis Blues rank 26th in the league for goals per game this season (2.84).
Blues vs. Panthers Prediction
I’m on the Panthers at home here. The Panthers play their better hockey at home and I’m sure they’re pumped to just get back on home ice. The Blues continue to be inconsistent and I’m just not sure I can get behind them in a spot like this. Give me the Panthers.
