The Ottawa Senators and the St. Louis Blues meet in NHL action from the Enterprise Center on Thursday night. Two teams that could really use a win right now, who comes out with that victory? Let’s take a look and give out a Senators vs. Blues Prediction.
Ottawa Senators Team Preview
The Ottawa Senators come into this one looking to rebound from a 4-1 loss at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes last time out. Tim Stutzle leads Ottawa in scoring with 26 points including a team-high 20 assists along with 6 goals. Claude Giroux has 23 points with 9 goals and 14 assists while Brady Tkachuk has 19 points with a team-high 13 goals. Drake Batherson has 19 points with 8 goals and 11 assists and Vladimir Tarasenko also has 19 points with 13 assists. Mathieu Joseph also has 17 points with 12 assists. Joonas Korpisalo has gone 6-7 with a 3.28 GAA and a .900 save percentage in goal for Ottawa while Anton Forsberg is 5-5 with a 3.03 GAA and an .885 save percentage in goal for the Senators.
Ottawa Senators Team Facts
- The Senators have lost four of their last five games as favorites following a home loss.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in seven of the Senators’ last eight games at Enterprise Center.
- The Senators have won the second period in four of their last five games against the Blues following a loss.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Senators’ last eight games following a home loss.
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St. Louis Blues Team Preview
The St. Louis Blues come into this one looking to snap a four-game losing skid after a 6-4 loss to Detroit last time out. Robert Thomas leads the Blues in scoring with 27 points including team-highs of 10 goals and 17 assists while Pavel Buchnevich has 21 points split between 9 goals and 12 assists. Jordan Kyrou has 17 points with 5 goals and 12 assists while Brayden Schenn has 16 points with 8 goals and 8 assists as well this season. Jordan Binnington’s gone 8-9-1 with a 3.10 GAA and a .907 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 four of the Blues’ last five games.
- The Blues have covered the puck line in each of their last eight Thursday games as underdogs.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in 12 of the Blues’ last 13 games.
- The underdogs have won the first period in each of the Blues’ last five games.
Matchup/League Facts
- The St. Louis Blues ranks 31st in the league in power play percentage this season (8.43%).
- The St. Louis Blues ranks 26th in the league for goals per game this season (2.82).
- The Ottawa Senators ranks 31st in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (72.37%).
- The Ottawa Senators ranks 32nd in the league for Period 2 goals allowed per game this season (1.65).
Senators vs. Blues Prediction
I’m backing the Blues here. What we normally see when teams fire their head coach, like St. Louis did a couple of days ago, is usually the team comes out with a fire under their butts and they play well. It happened with Edmonton, it happened with Minnesota and I’m banking on it happening here. The Sens have some solid pieces, but it almost feels like we’re encroaching on must-win territory in a spot like this for St. Louis. Give me the Blues in this one.
