by Chuck Sommers
Thursday, Jan 26, 2023
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Venue: Mullett Arena, Tempe, AZ
Where to watch: BSMW, BSAZ
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: NL
FanDuel: Blues -160, Coyotes +132
BetMGM: Blues -160, Coyotes +135
Caesars: Blues -161, Coyotes +135
Season record
Blues: 23-22-3
Coyotes: 15-28-5
We’ve hit the halfway mark in the NHL season. Yes, you read that right. We’re really hit that halfway mark that quickly. If you blinked, you probably missed a lot of good things happen in the hockey world. And with football about to be out of the way, look for our champion handicappers to get back on the rink. Oskeim Sports is on a 13-5-0 run in the NHL over the last 30 days, as is Will Rogers. Sean Murphy has also cashed in with a 16-10-0 run in the last month. Make sure you’re following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to get on this winning action!
Blues - Coyotes preview, prediction and analysis
Recent results
Blues: lost 5-3 vs. Sabres on Tuesday
Coyotes: lost 5-2 vs. Ducks on Tuesday
The St. Louis Blues will be playing the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday, January 26 in Tempe, Arizona.
The St. Louis Blues lost against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, January 24 in St. Louis, Missouri with a score of 5-3. The St. Louis Blues currently rank 6th in the Central Division. Justin Faulk and Torey Krug each had two assists for the Blues (23-22-3), who have lost four of six and finished a season-long seven-game homestand 3-4-0. Jordan Binnington made 26 saves.
"It's starting on time," St. Louis forward Brayden Schenn said. "You can't do that two games in a row and expect to come back from 4-0 and 3-0 (in 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday). Obviously, you make pushes, but the reality is it's hard to come back from 3-0 or 4-0 in this league. We, myself included, gave up the slot early there in the first two minutes. Before you know it, it was 2-0."
After the Sabres scored the first four goals of the game, Ivan Barbashev cut the lead to 4-1 at 4:33 with a spinning backhand near the left hash marks. Schenn then made it 4-2 at 7:56 when he shot glove side from the top of the left circle on a 4-on-2 rush. Jordan Kyrou scored 47 seconds into the third period to cut it to 4-3, beating Luukkonen glove side from the top of the right circle.
"We felt good between the second and third, getting two goals and getting ourselves rolling," Krug said. "Obviously, we get one first shift (in the third) and feel good about it, but we came up short."
"We threw the puck away blindly, and then they got it and we should have got right on the guy and killed it and we didn't do that and they got the goal 6-on-4," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "Don't need to throw it away at that point."
The St. Louis Blues have won five of their last 10 games.
The Arizona Coyotes lost against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, January 24 in Tempe, Arizona with a score of 5-2. The Arizona Coyotes currently rank 7th in the Central Division. Barrett Hayton had a goal and an assist, and Connor Ingram made 38 saves for the Coyotes.
"I did not like our start; we were a little bit sloppy on our assignments defensively," Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. "They're a young team, but they have a lot of skills and they took advantage of it."
After Anaheim scored the first four goals of the game, Hayton cut it to 4-1 at 10:44, switching from his forehand to his backhand and scoring undefended after intercepting Simon Benoit's no-look pass.
"There was about [a minute] there in the second where we gave up two goals and that broke the game a little bit," Tourigny said. "But we were able to crawl back, we had a lot of fight and the guys never quit."
Nick Schmaltz made it 4-2 at 14:34 on the power play, his first goal in 14 games and Arizona's first with a man-advantage in seven games.
The Arizona Coyotes have won two of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The Blues have dominated this matchup by winning 14 of the last 19 meetings, with the road team going 8-3 in the last 11. It hasn't been perfect, but the advantage is there for the Blues. Blues 4, Coyotes 2
The St. Louis Blues will be playing the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday, January 26 in Tempe, Arizona.
The St. Louis Blues lost against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, January 24 in St. Louis, Missouri with a score of 5-3. The St. Louis Blues currently rank 6th in the Central Division. Justin Faulk and Torey Krug each had two assists for the Blues (23-22-3), who have lost four of six and finished a season-long seven-game homestand 3-4-0. Jordan Binnington made 26 saves.
"It's starting on time," St. Louis forward Brayden Schenn said. "You can't do that two games in a row and expect to come back from 4-0 and 3-0 (in 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday). Obviously, you make pushes, but the reality is it's hard to come back from 3-0 or 4-0 in this league. We, myself included, gave up the slot early there in the first two minutes. Before you know it, it was 2-0."
After the Sabres scored the first four goals of the game, Ivan Barbashev cut the lead to 4-1 at 4:33 with a spinning backhand near the left hash marks. Schenn then made it 4-2 at 7:56 when he shot glove side from the top of the left circle on a 4-on-2 rush. Jordan Kyrou scored 47 seconds into the third period to cut it to 4-3, beating Luukkonen glove side from the top of the right circle.
"We felt good between the second and third, getting two goals and getting ourselves rolling," Krug said. "Obviously, we get one first shift (in the third) and feel good about it, but we came up short."
"We threw the puck away blindly, and then they got it and we should have got right on the guy and killed it and we didn't do that and they got the goal 6-on-4," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "Don't need to throw it away at that point."
The St. Louis Blues have won five of their last 10 games.
The Arizona Coyotes lost against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, January 24 in Tempe, Arizona with a score of 5-2. The Arizona Coyotes currently rank 7th in the Central Division. Barrett Hayton had a goal and an assist, and Connor Ingram made 38 saves for the Coyotes.
"I did not like our start; we were a little bit sloppy on our assignments defensively," Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. "They're a young team, but they have a lot of skills and they took advantage of it."
After Anaheim scored the first four goals of the game, Hayton cut it to 4-1 at 10:44, switching from his forehand to his backhand and scoring undefended after intercepting Simon Benoit's no-look pass.
"There was about [a minute] there in the second where we gave up two goals and that broke the game a little bit," Tourigny said. "But we were able to crawl back, we had a lot of fight and the guys never quit."
Nick Schmaltz made it 4-2 at 14:34 on the power play, his first goal in 14 games and Arizona's first with a man-advantage in seven games.
The Arizona Coyotes have won two of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The Blues have dominated this matchup by winning 14 of the last 19 meetings, with the road team going 8-3 in the last 11. It hasn't been perfect, but the advantage is there for the Blues. Blues 4, Coyotes 2
Betting trends
Blues are 9-12 off two straight overs this season.
Blues are 4-15 off a loss by 2 goals or more in the last game this season.
Coyotes are 7-21 when playing a 3rd game in 5 days this season.
Coyotes are 2-7 off a home loss this season.
Projected lines
Blues:
Brandon Saad -- Robert Thomas -- Jordan Kyrou
Ivan Barbashev -- Brayden Schenn -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Jake Neighbours -- Noel Acciari -- Logan Brown
Alexey Toropchenko -- Nathan Walker -- Tyler Pitlick
Nick Leddy -- Colton Parayko
Niko Mikkola -- Justin Faulk
Torey Krug -- Tyler Tucker
Jordan Binnington
Brandon Saad -- Robert Thomas -- Jordan Kyrou
Ivan Barbashev -- Brayden Schenn -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Jake Neighbours -- Noel Acciari -- Logan Brown
Alexey Toropchenko -- Nathan Walker -- Tyler Pitlick
Nick Leddy -- Colton Parayko
Niko Mikkola -- Justin Faulk
Torey Krug -- Tyler Tucker
Jordan Binnington
Coyotes:
Clayton Keller -- Barrett Hayton -- Nick Schmaltz
Jack McBain -- Nick Bjugstad -- Dylan Guenther
Nick Ritchie -- Travis Boyd -- Christian Fischer
Milos Kelemen -- Zack Kassian
Jakob Chychrun -- Shayne Gostisbehere
Juuso Valimaki -- Troy Stecher
Patrik Nemeth -- J.J. Moser
Josh Brown
Karel Vejmelka
Clayton Keller -- Barrett Hayton -- Nick Schmaltz
Jack McBain -- Nick Bjugstad -- Dylan Guenther
Nick Ritchie -- Travis Boyd -- Christian Fischer
Milos Kelemen -- Zack Kassian
Jakob Chychrun -- Shayne Gostisbehere
Juuso Valimaki -- Troy Stecher
Patrik Nemeth -- J.J. Moser
Josh Brown
Karel Vejmelka
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
