NHL Picks: Blues to finish homestand with win over Penguins – CBSSports.com
The Penguins and Blues will meet for the second and final time Monday. (USATSI)
Welcome to NHL Picks where CBSSports.com hockey writers Chris Peters and Adam Gretz make their predictions for all the day’s games.
Pittsburgh Penguins at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN
The Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues are two teams that can’t seem to heat up right now. They’re just getting by, with St. Louis getting by a lot better than Pittsburgh right now.
The Blues, more comfortably in playoff position with 59 points this season, have won three of their last four games. The Penguins, just a point out of a playoff spot with 49 points, have points in each of their last four games with a pair of wins and a pair of overtime losses. Both teams won their most recent game heading into Monday’s contest and both could afford to go on a little bit of a roll.
That’ll be easier said than done for both clubs as they deal with key injuries to their blue line. The Blues have been missing veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester for the last four games as he nurses an upper-body injury. The Penguins had to play without top defenseman Kris Letang in Sunday’s 5-0 win over Carolina, but he is a game-time decision for Monday. Both Bouwmeester and Letang could end up playing, and both would provide a significant boost to their respective team’s chances in this one.
Both clubs should be pretty used to dealing with injuries at this point since both have had their share of them this season. That’s particularly true of the Blues, who still haven’t had much of a chance to play with their roster at full strength.
The Penguins just recalled young defenseman Derrick Pouliot, who appeared in 34 games last season but was unable to crack the opening-day roster this year. He has 23 points in 37 AHL games so far this season. Even if Letang is back, there’s a good chance Pouliot sees action after David Warsofsky appeared to be injured Sunday when referee Tim Peel accidentally slid into him resulting in an ugly collision.
If the defense is a concern for Pittsburgh, they can take some comfort in the outstanding play of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin of late. Crosby has really turned the corner with 17 points over his last 13 games including a pair of goals in Sunday’s game. Malkin has four points over his last two games and 13 over his last nine games. When those two are on, the Pens at least have a chance.
They’ll have to contend with the Blues’ own formidable one-two punch. Vladimir Tarasenko has 24 goals and 45 points this season, while Alexander Steen has collected 39 points so far this year. That duo has been giving opposing defenses nightmares all season. Additionally, St. Louis is expected to go with Brian Elliott between the pipes. He has a .919 save percentage this year and is coming off of one of his best performances of the year, having made 46 saves in a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens Saturday.
Perhaps the biggest difference in this game comes in that the Penguins are on the second half of back-to-back games, while the Blues had Sunday off. According to NHL.com, the Penguins are 2-6-1 in that second game this season. Considering the injuries they’re dealing with on top of having to travel to take on a Blues squad that has been strong on home ice, the Penguins are in for a battle Monday. Pick: Blues 4, Penguins 2
The rest of Monday’s picks
Florida Panthers 3, Edmonton Oilers 2
Colorado Avalanche 4, Winnipeg Jets 3
Buffalo Sabres 3, Arizona Coyotes 1
San Jose Sharks 4, Ottawa Senators 2
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