Florida Panthers vs. St. Louis Blues Betting Preview
Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis
When: Monday, February 20, 2017, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Florida Panthers (+125) vs. St. Louis Blues (-145); total: 5.5 – view all NHL lines
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Betting on the Florida Panthers (27-20-10)
The Panthers will look to keep the good times rolling, as they travel to St. Louis with the prospect of nailing a fifth-consecutive victory and closing five-game road trip undefeated. The Panthers were last seen on the ice on Saturday, hanging a 3-2 loss on the Los Angeles Kings.
Florida has been enjoying some great offense during this road trip, as it has outscored its last four opponents, 20-12. Roberto Luongo managed to recover from a couple of bad outings, as he allowed just two goals on 35 shots faced against the Kings. He allowed 12 goals in his previous three starts, so his outing against LA could be taken as a sign of good things to come. The 37-year-old netminder is 16-14-6 with a 2.69 GAA and .915 SV% in 37 games played so far this season.
Florida, which is third in the league in penalty killing with an 85.9% success rate against the power play, is 2-0 in Luongo’s last two road starts.
Betting on the St. Louis Blues (31-23-5)
St. Louis hosts the Panthers later tonight, aiming to bounce back from a streak-busting 3-2 loss to Buffalo last Saturday. Prior to that setback, the Blues won six straight, including five on the road.
Despite the loss, the Blues should still be able to give the raging Panthers some trouble. For one, the Blues have one of the best offenses in the league, ranking ninth in goals for per game (2.8) and seventh in power play percentage (21.6). And while their defense has been mediocre when looked from a season perspective, it’s been actually solid of late. The Blues have surrendered two or more goals just twice in their last seven contests. They’re trending towards a great puck possession night against Florida, which has been outshot in all of its past three games. The Blues, on the other hand, are tenth in the league in shot attempts percentage.
Jake Allen could take the starting gig on goal for the Blues again tonight. Allen allowed three goals to Buffalo on Saturday, but is a strong 5-2 with a 1.87 GAA and .934 SV% in seven starts this February.
Writer’s Prediction
St. Louis (-145) wins, 3-2.
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