St. Louis Blues vs New York Rangers Prediction: Best Bet for Tuesday
The Rangers play this one without Igor Shesterkin, who is on injured reserve after knee surgery, and that changes everything about how New York defends its own end. St. Louis scores 3.14 goals per game and brings the steadier crease to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
The Matchup
St. Louis is 7-6-1 at plus-0.14 per game, scoring 3.14 goals and allowing 3.00, a profile with no fireworks and no real weakness either. Jimmy Snuggerud leads the Blues with 8 goals and Dylan Holloway has 9 assists and a team-high 12 points, so the scoring is spread across lines rather than loaded onto one. Joel Hofer has been excellent in net at a 2.42 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage, and his play is the main reason St. Louis keeps winning the close games on its schedule.
New York is 7-7-1 at minus-0.07, scoring 3.00 per game and allowing 3.07, and the Rangers' whole defensive identity is built around a goaltender who will not play. Igor Shesterkin is on injured reserve after knee surgery on his right knee and is not expected back this season.
That leaves Dylan Garand, who sits at 2.73 and .897, carrying the crease with Joonas Korpisalo also on injured reserve with a foot infection. Alexis Lafreniere leads the Rangers with 9 goals and Adam Fox has 16 assists and 17 points, so New York can still score. Scoring was never the question.
St. Louis has its own concern on the blue line. Colton Parayko is day to day with an upper-body injury, and Parayko is the defenseman the Blues lean on for the hardest minutes. Logan Mailloux is on injured reserve after hand surgery and Torey Krug is on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Keep an eye on whether Parayko plays before placing a bet.
Key Factors
The goaltending gap decides a game this even. Hofer at .917 against Garand at .897 does not sound dramatic, but across sixty minutes of a one-goal game it is the difference between a rebound cleared and a rebound buried. New York's penalty kill is genuinely excellent at 89.1 percent, which blunts St. Louis's 23.7 percent power play, and the Rangers kill is the market's best argument here. The Blues kill 83.3 percent themselves, though, so New York's 20.0 percent power play does not get an easy night either.
The favorite's case is home ice, Fox running the offense from the point, and that penalty kill. It fails in the crease. New York has built its season around Shesterkin erasing mistakes, and without him every defensive breakdown is a goal chance that stays one. St. Louis does not need to dominate this game. The Blues need it close in the third period, where Hofer has been the better goaltender all season and New York is learning to play without its safety net.
New York without Shesterkin is a different defensive team, and St. Louis has the better goaltender and the steadier five-on-five game in this matchup. The Blues take a tight one at the Garden. Take the St. Louis Blues moneyline at +105.
Game Information
| Date | Tuesday (11/3) |
|---|---|
| Start Time | 6:00 PM CT |
| How to Watch | NHL |
| Venue | Madison Square Garden |
| Total | 5.5 |
| Moneyline | St. Louis Blues +105 |
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