St. Louis Blues vs Edmonton Oilers - Odds and Predictions

Where: Rogers Place – Edmonton, AB., Canada

When: Wednesday, November 6, 8:30PM EST

How (TV/Radio): Sportsnet, Fox Sports Midwest | WFAN

Be sure to also check out this article covering our 2020 Stanley Cup Favorites!

St. Louis Blues (Away)

Head Coach: Craig Berube{All-Time 122-80-37}

The defending Cup champions have started this season much better than the last, which is scary. However, the loss of superstar forward Vladimir Tarasenko was a big hit to the team.

Still sitting in first-place in the Central division, the Blues currently have a team record of 9-3-3 have the potential to be riding a six-game winning streak heading into Wednesday night.

Offense

In every major statistic, the St. Louis Blues rank higher than their opponents in this one. Even without star Vladimir Tarasenko, the Blues have gone on a five-game winning streak at the time of writing.

They average more than three goals per game and have the fifth best shooting percentage in the league with a 10.9 percent. They average more shots than Edmonton, but just barely.

The Blues rank below Edmonton on the power play, but not by much. They sit sixth in the league with a success rate of 24.5 percent. They also have a massive edge in the faceoff circle as the Blues have a 52.7 percent success rate in the faceoff dot – the third-best percentage in the NHL.

Defense

The St. Louis Blues allow an average of three goals against per game and have allowed a combined total of 45 goals against this season.

They are neck and neck with Edmonton when it comes to allowing shots. The Blues allow an average of 30.1 shots per game whereas the Oilers allow 30.9. The Blues take almost as many penalties as the Edmonton Oilers but have a significantly weaker penalty kill.

The Blues are going to have to use their puck possession to their advantage and stay out of the penalty box altogether instead of relying on killing penalties.

Goaltending

St. Louis Blues’ backup goaltender Jake Allen is expected to start the game against the Oilers. Allen has played only three games this season, going 2-1-0 with a goals against average of 3.73 and a .855 save percentage.

Head Coach: Dave Tippett{All-Time 563-417-28-122 EDM, ARI, PHX, DAL}

The Edmonton Oilers have combined to score 45 goals so far this season. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and James Neal have accumulated 31 of them.

Often scrutinized for their lack of depth scoring, the Oilers are still finding ways to put teams away with relative ease – much like the Boston Bruins in the East. Edmonton currently sits in first-place in the Pacific division with a record of 10-4-2.

Offense

What would happen if one of the Oilers’ top-three got injured? That seems to be on many people’s minds as the team hasn’t shown much scoring talent beyond their top line. With that said, should everyone stay healthy all year, the depth argument may not matter.

Even though they rank in the bottom-ten in the league when it comes to average shots taken and average goals score per game, the Oilers still sit atop the Pacific division. Their 9.9 shooting percentage helps, but a majority of the Oilers offense has come on the power play, where they currently sit third in the league with a 26.7 percent success rate and 12 power play goals.

Their biggest challenge will be puck possession as the Oilers have one of the worst faceoff percentages in the league and they are about to go up against one of the best. They can’t score if they don’t have the puck. Simple.

Defense

Although defenseman Adam Larsson is out with injury, the Oilers have still managed to keep things together defensively. They keep up with the defensive Blues and even surpass them in some statistic. Most notably: the penalty kill. The Oilers are seventh in the league with an 86.3 percent penalty kill (as mentioned above, the Blues rank at 19th).

On average, the Oilers also allow 0.5 goals less per game than their opponents. With that said, Edmonton does tend to give up more shots than the Blues and they also find themselves in the penalty box more frequently that St. Louis, but by a slim margin. Edmonton has allowed five goals less this season that the St. Louis Blues but have allowed 40+ shots more against.

Goaltending

Goaltender Mike Smith, an offseason acquisition by the Edmonton Oilers, is expected to get the start in net against the defending Stanley Cup champions. So far this season, Smith has put up a record of 5-3-1. He has a goals against average of 2.12, a save percentage of .931, and one shutout.

These two teams last faced off towards the end of last season on March 19. The St. Louis Blues absolutely smashed the Edmonton Oilers with a final score of 7-2.

What’s at Stake?

Two division leaders are going head-to-head. One team is a defending Cup champion and one team is a team that is expected to be a cup contender. This could very well be a sample of what the Western conference final could be in 2020.

Both of these teams could easily be seen playing for the Stanley Cup this season and their biggest obstacle may be each other. This is a chance to start with the upper hand in the mental game come playoff time.

Questions to Answer

Although posting a winning record, Blues’ goalie Jake Allen has put up some shakey numbers so far this season between the pipes. Is it a smart move to put a goalie with a 3.73 GAA in net against the most dangerous lines in the NHL?

Should St. Louis come into this game riding a six-game streak, what will the Oilers have to do to snap that streak? Will home ice advantage be enough to stop the Stanley Cup champions?

How deep are these rosters? Edmonton has little scoring output from their second, third, and fourth lines. If St. Louis focuses on that first line, they may nullify Edmonton’s chances. St. Louis is known for depth and with an injured Edmonton blue line, St. Louis may come out as the higher scoring team.

St. Louis Blues Injury Report

F Vladimir Tarasenko – DL (shoulder)

D Erik Foley – IR/NR (concussion)

Edmonton Oilers Injury Report

D Adam Larsson – DL (lower-leg)

F Riley Sheahan – day-to-day (undisclosed)

F Josh Archibald – DL (foot)

D Ryan Mantha – IR/NR (eye)

F Joakim Nygard – DL (ribs)

St. Louis Blues vs Edmonton Oilers – Game Odds

The latest odds for the Blues vs Oilers are provided by bet365 NJ, DraftKings Sportsbook and Unibet NJ.

Good luck!

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