Free NHL Pick: Montreal @ St. Louis
The Montreal Canadiens will play their last road game of the week before heading home for a 4-game series. On Tuesday, they will travel to Scottrade Center in St. Louis to play against the Blues. LIVE IN-PLAY WAGERING is available on this game
The Montreal Canadiens are in first place in the Eastern Conference after playing 25 games, with a record of 17-6-2, while the St. Louis Blues are currently the number two seed in the Western Conference after playing the same amount of games, their current record is 14-7-4. This will be the most exciting game on Tuesday, no doubt.
The Canadiens are 5-5-1 on the road, not exactly the kind the record you would write home about; by contrast the Blues are 11-1-3 at home, which will most likely make them the favorite in this game. However, there are many other things to consider here, one is point differential. Montreal has scored 74 goals while allowing their opponents to only score 56, given them a point differential of +18. On the other hand, the St. Louis Blues, have only scored 69 goals which is already an indicative of their offensive power, but add that they have allowed their opponents to score 70 points against them and you starting seeing a different picture.
Letís also look at these teams ATSí, this season, the ATS for the Canadiens this season is 16-8, and the Blues are 13-11 against the spread. So, what looked like an even match on paper, is suddenly starting to look a little lopsided, or is it?
It might all come down to the individual players, right wing Brendan Gallagher has accumulated 14 points this season for Montreal, he has a shooting average of 7% having scored 5 points on 68 shots on goal, he also has 9 assists. Left wing and team Captain Max Pacioretty has been averaging 18 minutes of play on the ice per game, and has a shooting average of 10% having scored 7 goals on 69 attempts with 11 assists which brings his total points to 18 so far, this season. Goaltender Carey Price is 14-3 this season, after 566 shots against him, of which he has only allowed 33 goals, meaning he has made 533 saves for a save percentage of 94% for the season, not bad...
On the Blues side, Russian right winger Vladimir Tarasenko who alternates as team captain, has accumulated 27 points this season and a shooting percentage of 14%, way above the averages of his Montreal counterparts, add to that his 19 assists and his 19 minutes of ice time per game and he becomes a huge threat to the Canadiens. Another alternate Captain for the Blues, Paul Stastny averages 21 minutes of play per game, and in that time, he has a shooting average of 16% having scored 6 goals on 38 shots, plus he has 7 assists. Goalie Jake Allen has 12 wins and 3 losses this season, heís had 485 shots against him of which he has managed to save 440 for a save percentage of 91%, slightly below that of Carey Price.
A determining factor in who will be appointed the favorite of this game by AceSportsbook.com, is player injuries. As of right now, Montreal, has listed several key players as either questionable or expected to miss the game, among them are Alex Galchenyuk, Charles Hudon,†Nathan Beaulieu and Zach Redmond. The Blues have not reported any key injuries for this game.
Free Pick:
St. Louis Blues ñ no injuries, at home and player stats make this a no brainer.
