BEST LINES:  Pinnacle -½ +157 BET 365 -½ +170 SportsInteraction -½ +170 5DIMES -½ +160

Posted at 3:00 PM EST.

8:05 PM EST. Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman didn’t come out and say he was writing this year off and looking to the future but as the old cliche goes, “actions speak louder than words”. The Blackhawks fired Joel Quenneville and over the past few days they have brought up some guys on the farm, most notably, Gustav Forsling. During practice the last couple of days, new coach Jeremy Colliton, has been using different lines and he’s been pairing up different defense combos too. These are things that usually take place in September during the exhibition schedule and not in mid-November with nearly a quarter of the season gone. The Blackhawks may need a transition period but even if that is not the case, they are still a team in trouble. Additionally, with teams’ scoring four goals or more to win games these days, the Blackhawks have been held to three goals or less in 10 of their past 11 games and two goals or less in six of those.

There is not a single team in the NHL that is happier about playing a road game than the Blues. St. Louis has played just four road games all year and are coming off a seven-game home stand. Big difference, as players all head home after games and practices when they’re and now you can times that by two weeks after such an extended home stand. On the road, they hang out, bond, have fun and play hockey and it matters. Extended home stands are never beneficial and St. Louis has not had the opportunity until now to take the road for a few games. The first game of a trip is an important one and that especially holds true for the 6-6-3 Blues after an incredibly eventful offseason. Expectations were high, as fans expected big things from new arrivals like Ryan O’Reilly and Tyler Bozak, as well as returning stars like Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko. Nowhere on that list of expectations was Oskar Sundqvist blossoming into a significant contributor but he has. The Blues have not shown it yet on the ice but they are superior in every facet of the game than the Blackhawks and in a favorable situation against a team of veterans that might not be happy regarding the firing of their long time coach, we’ll gladly get behind them.

Therefore:

OT included - St. Louis +103 for 1 unit.

Regulation only - St. Louis -½ +170 for 1 unit. 

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