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The St. Louis Blues (2-0-0) take on the Vegas Golden Knights (1-0-0) Friday. Puck drop from T-Mobile Arena is set for 10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NHL odds around the Blues vs. Golden Knights odds and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
Season series: First meeting; VGK won 2-1 last year.
The Blues secured their 2nd straight comeback victory with a 5-4 OT winner against the San Jose Sharks Thursday night. We cashed all 3 bets in the process. They entered the 3rd period down 4-1 and scored 4 unanswered goals to walk away with 2 points. They opened the game quickly with 22 shots in the 1st, which is more than they had in a 1st period in over a decade. Some bad luck had them down 2-1, though. But they found a way. This is a very different team than the one that had just 4 wins after being down multiple goals last season.
Vegas may not be in Carolina, but it was a natural disaster against the Colorado Avalanche with an 8-4 W Wednesday. C Ivan Barbashev, RW Mark Stone and LW Victor Olofsson each scored 2 goals in the rout. Vegas lost a ton of parts in the offseason, but clearly what remains is clicking on another level.
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Blues at Golden Knights odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of NHL odds. Lines last updated at 2:20 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Blues +180 (bet $100 to win $180) | Golden Knights -225 (bet $225 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Blues +1.5 (-145) | Golden Knights -1.5 (+120)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Blues at Golden Knights projected goalies
Jordan Binnington (1-0-0, 2.00 GAA, .938 SV%) vs. Adin Hill (1-0-0, 4.00 GAA, .875 SV%).
Binner stopped 30 of 32 shots in the season opener. He saved 1.7 goals above expected and really kept the team in it long enough for it to find its stride. He was under pressure early and often and stood on his head at points in the game. He was 1-1-1 against VGK last year with a 2.70 GAA and .931 SV%.
Hill stopped 28 of 32 against the Avs in his first start of the year. He wasn’t healthy to face the Blues last season but stopped 25 of 28 in a 3-2 loss against them in the ’22-23 season.
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Blues at Golden Knights picks and predictions
Prediction
Golden Knights 3, Blues 2
Moneyline
The Blues pulled a rabbit out of their hat in the first 2 games of their road trip, and they’re really playing with house money here. If they can manage a point on the back end of a back-to-back, that would be big. Binnington keeps them in it, but VGK is too strong. That said, we’re not spending -225 for the Knights.
Instead, I’m taking JACK EICHEL UNDER 4.5 SHOTS (-165). He had 4 assists and 3 SOG in the first game of the season. I really look for C Robert Thomas to play Eichel tightly.
Puck line/Against the spread
These teams have played 1-goal games 4 times in the last 6 meetings. Binnington does not get enough credit for how good of a goaltender he is, and he gets up for these matchups.
Take BLUES +1.5 (-145) at a very reasonable price.
Over/Under
The Under cashed twice in the 3 meetings between these squads last year. The Over is 1-1 for St. Louis thus far and 1-0 for Vegas.
I look for a tight one Friday night, and I’m taking the UNDER 6 (-105).
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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