Blues vs. Kings NHL Preview and Best Bet (Archive)
St. Louis is giving the blues to just about every team in the league and entered Wednesday night’s clash in LA with a 6-1 mark, tops in the Central Division. Let’s see if the Kings can cool them down as we look to keep cashing our NHL picks!
St. Louis Blues vs. Los Angeles Kings
Wednesday, November 03, 2021 – 10:00 PM EDT at Staples Center
Entering last Thursday night’s matchup with the Avalanche, the Blues had won every game they had played and each victory was by a two-goal margin or greater. No overtimes, no shootouts, just domination until they dropped a 4-3 decision to Colorado that night.
Fortunately, the Blues got a cupcake to toy within their next game as they welcomed the Blackhawks to town on Saturday night. But a funny thing happened. It wasn’t the walkover many anticipated but the Blues ultimately prevailed, by the narrowest of margins, 1-0. St. Louis outshot the Hawks, 37-25, and Tory Krug’s third-period power-play goal proved to be the only one of the game but it begged the question as to whether the Blues have suddenly lost their edge.
"It was a good bounce-back game after not playing a good game against Colorado," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. “I thought we were pretty solid tonight, which was good to see and we still got a couple of guys out of the lineup but it was a good way to find a way to win tonight. It’s a good thing and again we’re going on a road, we’re gonna play LA again, they’re a tough opponent, San Jose, and then Anaheim and Winnipeg. It’s gonna be a tough road trip, but I think we’re ready to get back on the road.”
Kings Courting Three Straight Wins
The Kings were on the outside looking in at the playoffs last season and if an improvement was expected this year, it has yet to fully manifest. However, there are signs that LA is coming to life. After losing six of their first seven games, the Kings have managed a modest two-game winning streak with victories over the Canadiens and Sabres.
In Sunday’s 3-2 win over Buffalo, the Sabres struck twice in the second period after a scoreless opening stanza. But the Kings rebounded with three straight goals of their own as Carl Grundstrom, Anze Kopitar, and Alex Iafallo all lit the lamp for LA. Veteran netminder, Jonathan Quick, stopped 22 of 24 shots while the Kings connected on 3-of-34.
Kings coach Todd McLellan said., “That shoe’s been on the other foot, where we’ve been ahead by a goal and we didn’t come out of it with a win. So, to do it coming from behind and to get the win, I think it means a lot to our group right now.”
Wanna Make a Bet?
Any win is a good win in professional sports but I can’t help but think that beating two of the worst teams in the league is not exactly cause for celebration. This is precisely what the Kings did as the Canadiens are just flat-out terrible while the Sabres are an overachieving lot that has recently feasted on the league’s dregs with wins over the Canucks, Coyotes, and Canadiens.
Consider me unimpressed. St. Louis is a vastly improved team and goalie, Jordan Binnington, is on his game. The Blues have won the last three consecutive meetings between these teams and if we peruse the NHL odds, we can see that they are only -132 road favorites a day before faceoff.
I highly doubt the Kings can maintain the pace and tempo that the Blues’ forecheckers will be delivered in this one so let’s lay what I believe to be a small price worth paying and watch St. Louis give the Kings a case of the blues.
NHL Pick: Blues (-132) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.