Free NHL Picks Today: St. Louis Blues vs Columbus Blue Jackets 10/15/22

The St. Louis Blues get their new season underway against the Columbus Blue Jackets (0-2-0) on Saturday at Enterprise Center. The Blues are -225 favorites, and the total is 6.5. Columbus is coming off a 5-2 loss against the Lightning yesterday. The Blue Jackets committed only two penalties in the game, yet still conceded a power play goal. Johnny Gaudreau and Gustav Nyquist each scored once for the Blue Jackets. Daniil Tarasov saved only 34 of 39 shots against (.871%) in the loss.

HEAD TO HEAD

The teams split their two meetings last season, the last of which was a 5-4 victory for the Blue Jackets in March. Five players had two points for Columbus. Joonas Korpisalo got the win despite allowing two goals on 7 shots (.714%).

FACING OFF

Columbus averaged 3.15 goals per game last season, 14th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Blues team that allowed 2.91 goals a game (11th). Meanwhile, St. Louis found the net 3.77 times a game on average, fourth in the league, and will be looking to exploit the Blue Jackets’ weak defense, which allowed opponents to score 3.62 goals per game (28th).The Blue Jackets converted 18.64% of their power play opportunities (24th), while St. Louis’ 84.09% penalty kill percentage ranked as the fifth-best. The Blues scored on 26.97% of their power play chances, second-most in the NHL. Columbus’ PK% of 78.57 ranked No. 20.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Nyquist, Gaudreau, and Patrik Laine are the top skaters for the Blue Jackets with one point apiece early this season. Each has one goal. In the net, Tarasov (0-2-0) is Columbus’ top goaltender. He has a 4.50 GAA and a .890% save percentage. With 62 points last season, Jakub Voracek was the top skater for the Blue Jackets. He had six goals and 56 assists in 79 games. In the net, Elvis Merzlikins (27-23-7) was Columbus’ top goaltender. He had a 3.22 GAA and a .907% save percentage. Vladimir Tarasenko led the Blues in scoring a season ago with 82 points. He played 75 games, scoring 34 goals and providing 48 assists. Ville Husso, now with the Red Wings, had the best goals against average for St. Louis at 2.56. He went 25-7-6 and had a save percentage of .919%. Jordan Binnington (18-14-4) is the top returning goalie for St. Louis with a goals against average of 3.13. He had a save percentage of .901%.