Tip: Two struggling and injury-hit teams clash at Enterprise Center

There are no pleasant injury reports for either the Blues or the Canucks, as both teams have had a rough start to the season and now need to find something to build on.

Two injury-riddled teams

Heading into tonight’s game, the St. Louis Blues are expected to be without Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours. The latter is expected to be sidelined for several weeks — a tough blow after his strong start with six goals in eight games. Thomas is listed as “day-to-day” and is not expected to play against the Canucks either. Both absences are significant for the Blues at this stage of the season when the team has already been struggling. As I’ve argued before, Thomas is probably one of the league’s most underrated centers and a key piece if the Blues are to get the most out of their offense. That said, Vancouver’s injury situation is so much worse that I still have to consider the home team as the more playable option in this matchup.

Vancouver’s injury list is one that’s likely keeping fans up at night: Quinn Hughes, Connor Garland, Filip Chytil, Teddy Blueger, Jonathan Lekkerimäki — and more. At the moment, the team’s main hope rests on Thatcher Demko maintaining his absolutely insane form. The American goaltender currently has the best underlying numbers of any goalie in the league. Through seven games, he has a Goals Saved Above Expected of 9.5(!) — meaning an average goalie would have allowed roughly ten more goals. The same can’t be said for the Blues’ goaltenders, who have yet to reach their expected level. However, there’s still untapped potential in Jordan Binnington, who is, at his best, a very capable goaltender.

The underlying numbers favor the Blues

Despite their weak start, the St. Louis Blues seem to be doing a lot of things right. At five-on-five, their underlying metrics are excellent, with an xGF% (expected goals for percentage) of 54.85%, sixth-best in the league. That can be compared to the Canucks’ 44.63%, fourth-worst. Sure, it’s a small sample size, but it’s clear that Vancouver is heavily dependent on Demko standing on his head night after night. The injury situation only makes things more concerning. Aside from Elias Pettersson — who I think has started to find his rhythm — it’s really been Hughes and Garland driving play. With both of them out tonight, things look extremely thin.

Because the Canucks are missing both their regular second- and third-line centers (Chytil and Blueger), they made a move to acquire Lukas Reichel from the Chicago Blackhawks. The young German has yet to find his footing in the NHL, and whether he can get a fresh start in Vancouver remains to be seen — he’s still pointless after three games with the team.

Conclusion & betting pick

It’s never fun to rely on a team that can’t seem to win. The St. Louis Blues haven’t had the start they were hoping for, and the injuries to Thomas and Neighbours are troublesome. But the Canucks’ injury situation is so severe that the Blues become the obvious side to back. Yes, they’ve lost five straight, but their on-ice performance hasn’t looked nearly as bad as the results suggest. I also expect Binnington to bounce back soon and perform at the level we know he’s capable of.

St. Louis Blues FT @ +110 at bet365