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St. Louis vs. Buffalo: NHL Match Prediction
On December 29, there will be a duel between St. Louis and Buffalo. The Blades have emerged from a long losing streak and are ready to fight back against the Notes. However, the Blues certainly do not intend to give in at home, especially considering that they have won most of their previous home games against the Sabres. What is the best bet for this matchup? Find out from our forecast
Command Analysis
St. Louis Blues
USACurrent form
St. Louis dropped to 11th place in the Western Conference standings and showed weak results for most of the month. After Jim Montgomery took over as head coach, the team showed noticeable progress, but this successful period was short-lived, and the club again began to lose precious points frequently. At the moment, the Musicians have only 38 points, and they are already three points behind the playoff zone. Earlier, the Notes faced a series of three defeats. They failed at home against New Jersey (1:4), and already on the road they suffered defeats against Tampa (1:3) and Florida (1:2 OT). Fortunately, in the final confrontation with Detroit, they still pulled themselves together and won a confident victory with a score of 4:0.
Also after Christmas, the club unexpectedly showed itself well in the confrontation with Nashville, which it dealt with with a score of 7:4. Then the "blues" incredibly confidently spent the opening twenty minutes, during which they scored four goals, and after that they brought the matter to a victorious end without any particular problems. By the way, they scored their seven goals in literally 29 shots, showing crazy realization of the moments.
Overall, St. Louis performs best in the second period, where they often score goals, but they are not at their best in the third period, with a 33:40 goal-to-goal ratio.
Disqualifications and injuries
Faksa, Krug, Abramov, Leddy and Texier will not be able to take part in the upcoming fight due to injuries.
Interesting trends for betting
- The Blues have averaged 7.65 penalty minutes in their last games.
On average, St. Louis is sent off at least four times per game.
- Statistically, St. Louis has 26 shots on goal
The "Notes" have been characterized by low throwing activity this season
Buffalo Sabres
USACurrent form
Buffalo remains the main outsider of the Eastern Conference, but in the near future it can get out of the last line of the tournament table. If it manages to give a long winning streak, it can even claim to get into the playoffs, because only eight points separate it from the eight. It seems that the terrible period for the "blades" is over, and they have recovered from a series of 13 defeats.
Let us recall that before the break they lost to Toronto (3:6) and Boston (1:3), but went to the holidays in a good mood, having defeated the Islanders with a score of 7:1. Returning from a short rest, Lindy Ruff team also showed great performance in the confrontation with Chicago, which they dealt with with a score of 6:2. At the same time, in both of the latter cases, Buffalo had no problems creating and realizing moments, and they played quite well in defense.
However, today the club remains one of the most conceding in the league and usually at least three or four pucks end up in its net. The most disastrous in its performance is the second game segment, in which the "blades" have a ratio of 34:49 in goals scored and conceded and often allow the opponent to score more than once.
Disqualifications and injuries
Greenway will not be able to take part in the upcoming fight due to injury.
Interesting trends for betting
- On average, Buffalo concedes at least three goals per game.
The team continues to show weak defensive play
- The Sabres are statistically receiving 11 penalty minutes per game.
The team is not known for its good discipline and remains one of the worst in the league in this regard.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total over 1.5 goals
In three out of five matches between the clubs, the first period was productive
1.85Bet 3rd period: guests will score
In four of the five games against St. Louis, the visitors scored in the third period.
1.50Tip and bets
We wouldn't underestimate Buffalo in this matchup. The Blades have recovered from a series of defeats and have started to show decent play. Plus, they are an inconvenient opponent for St. Louis and have almost always given a decent fight back. The last meeting between them ended in favor of the visitors outside of regulation time. We think that this time Lindy Ruff team will be able to bring things to at least overtime and get some points.
Prediction - Buffalo will not lose for 1.65
Bet on individual total
Buffalo has demonstrated great scoring in recent games and has opened up many opponents' defenses at least three times. St. Louis, in turn, has conceded at least three times in three of its previous five games. In general, the Sabres rarely have problems creating and converting chances in games with the Blues and even on the road they often score three times. Based on this, it makes sense to bet on their individual total.
We take the individual total of Buffalo over 2.5 goals for 1.80
Total Bet
The matches between these teams are often spectacular. Buffalo plays exclusively open hockey and adheres to the style of play on counterattacks. The Blades, in addition, try to compensate for their weak play in defense. St. Louis, by the way, also played the last match after Christmas with 11 goals scored, so there is a high probability that the upcoming meeting will also be a high-scoring struggle.
We bet on total over 5.5 goals with odds of 1.85
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