NHL Prediction: St. Louis Blues – Vancouver Canucks on 13.08

St. Louis lost three games in a row after the break. Will they be able to successfully start their playoff series against Vancouver and win the first meeting as many pundits project? Look for the answer in our prediction. 

St. Louis Blues 

St. Louis suffered losses in three matches in a row. As you may recall, the team lost to Colorado 1-2. They then faced off against Dallas. They had an excellent chance to beat the Dallas Stars as they opened the score and controlled the situation until the last minute. In the end, however, they conceded in the 5×6 format and lost in the shootout. In the third game, they could not hold back the attack of Vegas during a 4-6 loss.

Note that the Blues did not have big problems with the defense during the regular season. At the same time, they did not perform overly well in the offense. So far, even Vladimir Tarasenko, who is one of the leading scorers of the squad, finds himself unable to get points for the squad.

Vancouver Canucks 

Despite being a notorious outsider in the confrontation with Minnesota, Vancouver still managed to snatch a victory in the series. The Canucks suffered a shutout in the opening match with a score of 0-3. In the next three meetings, however, they celebrated success. Travis Green’s team showed excellent performance and secured three victories with the scores of 4-3, 3-0, and 5-4 (OT).  

Even though the Canucks have lost many players to various injuries, they remain a serious opponent for any team. And they’ve been experiencing difficulties with their squad throughout the season, so they’re used to playing with a suboptimal roster. 

St. Louis Blues – Vancouver Canucks prediction 

We think that St. Louis is unjustifiably the favorite in this series. They are in bad shape and have not won a single match after the break, so betting on them isn’t overly wise.

Vancouver isn’t in the optimal shape, either, but it was able to deal with Minnesota and showed a brilliant game. We suggest betting on a Canucks victory with a zero handicap in the first match.  

And given the fact that the previous meetings between the clubs were held with a minimum number of goals, we suggest betting on the small match totals.