Free Picks: Arizona Coyotes vs. St. Louis Blues

The Coyotes have struggled to pick up victories this season. Near the basement of the West Division, Arizona will look to stop St. Louis. The Blues are the highest-scoring team in the division and have flexed their offensive muscles on multiple occasions this season. With that being said, I think we will see the offensive campfire be extinguished in this game, even after two consecutive games of hitting the over in total goals.

For this season, teams face each other multiple times per week and hatred is fueled with consecutive games. Today, the Arizona Coyotes and St. Louis Blues will compete against one another for the third straight game. Due to a cancellation between the Blues and Avalanche and potential other cancellations, the Blues and Coyotes may square off in six consecutive games.

The first thing I notice between these two teams is that they have combined for 7 goals in each of their past 2 games. The outright winner of the game flipped between the two results as well.

The Blues are an interesting team because they have played 3 games where they have allowed just 1 goal. On the opposite end, St. Louis has played 3 games where they have allowed 4 goals. The Blues’ goals against per game ranks in the lower half of the league, which already has the gears turning for this NHL regular season prediction.

I wouldn’t declare Arizona a high scoring team by any means. Like the Blues’ defense, the Coyotes’ offense is rated in the lower half of the standings in terms of total goals. They have been shutout twice this season and while Arizona has tallied 5 goals on two separate occasions, Arizona is an average team in total offense.

This is where it gets interesting. Despite Arizona and St. Louis combining for 14 goals over two games, the O/U total goals is still at 5.5 (888Sport). On the money line, it’s no surprise that St. Louis is the favorite in this contest.

Starting netminders have not been confirmed, but it’s expected that Jordan Binnington and Darcy Kuemper will get the nod for their respective clubs.

It’s incredibly hard to tally 7 or more goals on consecutive nights, even if the two teams are firing on all cylinders. With that being said, I don’t think the Coyotes are giving much help to Kuemper in net. He has a 2.65 GAA and still only has 2 wins on the season.

I think the total goals O/U falls on Arizona. These past two games have been a rare stretch of offense that might be smothered in this contest. We all know on BetPicks that I love goals and betting the over. However, I don’t see these teams lighting the lamp for the third straight game.

• The Blues are 5-2 SU in last 7 games
• St. Louis’ 39 goals are the most in the division.
• The total has gone under in 11 of Arizona’s last 15 games in St. Louis
• Arizona ranks 23^rd in goals for.