The St. Louis Blues (28-31-5) are on the road to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets (20-37-7), who will be looking to halt their losing streak, at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
St. Louis is coming off a 4-2 win over the Sharks on Thursday. The Blues committed four penalties in the game, though they held San Jose without a power play goal.
Four players found the net for the Blues. Robert Thomas scored and provided an assist to share the scoring lead with Pavel Buchnevich, who had two assists. Jordan Binnington saved an impressive 32 of 34 shots (.941%) in the win.
Columbus dropped their third in a row, falling 5-4 (OT) to the Penguins on Tuesday. Four players found the net for the Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins started in the loss and didn’t allow a goal (7 saves).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Blues won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 5-2 victory in October. Vladimir Tarasenko (2G 0A), Buchnevich (1G 1A), and Brayden Schenn (0G 2A) each had two points to lead St. Louis. Sean Kuraly and Gustav Nyquist were on the scoresheet for Columbus. Binnington got the win, saving 23 of 25 shots (.920%).
FACING OFF
St. Louis is averaging 3.03 goals per game for the season, 21st in the NHL, and they are taking on a Blue Jackets team that is allowing 3.72 goals a game (29th).
Meanwhile, Columbus has found the net 2.59 times a game on average, 29th in the league, and will be looking to exploit the Blues’ weak defense, which is allowing opponents to score 3.66 goals per game (28th).
The Blues’ 19.79% power play percentage ranks 22nd in the league, while the Blue Jackets are 26th with a conversion rate of 17.96%. In terms of defending power plays, St. Louis has the league’s 20th-ranked PK% at 76.73%, while Columbus is 21st at 76.29%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Jordan Kyrou (57 points), Buchnevich (56), and Thomas (55) have been the top skaters this season for the Blues. Thomas has been another top performer for St. Louis, scoring 16 and assisting 39. In the net, Binnington (21-23-5) is St. Louis’ top goaltender. He has a 3.34 GAA and a .893% save percentage.
Johnny Gaudreau leads the Blue Jackets in scoring with 55 points. He has 15 goals and 40 assists. Joonas Korpisalo (12-11-3) has the best goals against average for Columbus at 3.13. He has a save percentage of .912%.
Merzlikins (7-17-2) has played the most games in net for the Blue Jackets this season. He has a 4.10 GAA and a .880% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
St. Louis is 14-17-1 away from home this season. Columbus is 13-19-2 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Columbus Blue Jackets (+115)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
