Allen, St. Louis run into red-hot Detroit
Having captured five contests in a row, the Red Wings look exactly like the team that terrorized the Blues for years in the Central Division. Tonight, St. Louis can only hope history doesn’t repeat itself.
The two teams drop the puck at 8 p.m. ET in the Gateway City. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives Ken Hitchcock’s club odds of -175 to snap Detroit’s streak. The visiting club, on the other hand, represents a +155 underdog.
Detroit may have dropped its first two tilts of the campaign, but things couldn’t be much better at present. On Tuesday, Jeff Blashill’s crew bested Carolina 4-2. Center Dylan Larkin potted two goals in the triumph, while netminder Petr Mrazek made 29 saves.
There’s more positive news heading into Scottrade Center, too, as the squad expects Justin Abdelkader (lower-body) injury to return from a two-game absence. Meanwhile, the Blues have arguably been missing in action for the majority of the past week. The Note followed up defeats at Vancouver and Edmonton with a listless loss to the hapless Flames.
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Perhaps renewing hostilities with the Red Wings, who moved to the Atlantic Division in 2013, will prove just the tonic. We look for Jake Allen to slide back between the pipes and do a bang-up job against Blashill’s troops. Feel confident in rolling with the home team.
THURSDAY NHL FREE PICK: BLUES -1.5