The St. Louis Blues (30-11-8) go north of the border Monday to play the Vancouver Canucks (27-18-4) at 10 p.m. ET at the Rogers Arena. It’s their first game of a four-game road trip through Western Canada. We analyze the Blues-Canucks odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips around this matchup.
Blues at Canucks: Projected starting goalies
Jake Allen vs. Thatcher Demko
Allen gets the nod in the first game back from the all-star break. He is 8-3-3 through 14 starts and 17 relief appearances while backing up Jordan Binnington. Allen has a .927 save percentage and a 2.22 goals against average.
Demko, 24, will make his 16th start of the season. He is 9-5-1 while backing up starter Jacob Markstrom, and he has a .904 SV% and 3.06 GAA. He stopped 17 of 18 shots in a win over the San Jose Sharks in his last start before the all-star break.
Place a sports bet on this hockey action or other games at BetMGM.
Blues at Canucks: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 4:50 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Canucks 3, Blues 1
Moneyline (ML)
The Blues and Canucks lead the Central and Pacific divisions, respectively. You expect motivation will be through the roof since the Canucks dropped their first meeting at home with the defending Stanley Cup champion Blues, losing 2-1 in overtime Nov. 5. The Blues lost four straight on the road prior to the all-star break and the Canucks were on an eight-game home winning streak. Also, Vancouver has played well against Western Conference competition lately, going 8-1 in their last nine in-conference matchups.
BETTING the CANUCKS (+100) on the moneyline is too good to pass up for a team who’s 16-5-3 at home this season. New to sports betting? Bet $100 on the Canucks to win to earn a profit of $100.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
We are staying away from the puck line and the alternate puck line because the last three tilts between the two division leaders have been decided by shootout or overtime. Also, we are on the Canucks to win this game—nixing a Blues puck line bet—and their 27-22 puck line record isn’t good enough to justify the Canucks’ (+1.5, -286) price point. STICK WITH THE MONEYLINE BET in Blues-Canucks.
Over/Under (O/U)
BetMGM has effectively priced us out of the regular 4.5 total so we are looking to the alternate line of 5.5 as the play in this game. BET UNDER 5.5 (-110) because the Under is 19-7-5 in the last 31 head-to-head meetings in Vancouver and 32-15-9 in the last 56 meetings overall.
Want some action on this matchup? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Follow @Geoffery_Clark and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=2059]