Calgary Flames (18-12-6) vs St. Louis Blues (25-11-5)
Monday, January 24, 2022 at 9:00 pm
NHL Western Conference Total of the Week. My selection is on the 'over' between St. Louis and Calgary at 9:05 pm et on Monday.
We cashed a free play on the 'under' in the Blues 3-1 win in Vancouver last night. St. Louis jumped ahead early in the second period and was able to cruise the rest of the way with the Canucks missing plenty of offensive firepower due to Covid protocols. Tonight, I suspect St. Louis will need to keep its foot on the gas for three full periods as the Flames come in having scored eight goals in their last two games, and fired a whopping 47 shots on the Oilers net in a disappointing 5-3 loss on Saturday. Since December 30th, the Flames have scored 6, 5, 2, 1, 3, 1, 5 and 3 goals - good, but not great. Here, they'll catch a Blues squad in a back-to-back spot, and likely with currently the weaker of their two goaltenders in the crease in Jordan Binnington. Six of Binnington's last seven starts have totalled at least six goals. The last time he faced the Flames was right here in Calgary in January of 2020 when the Blues skated to a 5-4 victory. Here, we'll note that the 'over' is 52-36 with the Blues coming off an 'under' result, as is the case here, with that situation producing an average total of 6.5 goals. The 'over' is also 24-13 in the Blues last 37 games following a contest that totalled four goals or less with that spot producing an average total of 6.6 goals. As for the Flames, the last 23 times they've played at home after scoring three goals or more in consecutive games, they've seen an average total of 6.6 goals scored. Also working in our favor is the fact that the Blues are expected to have Pavel Buchnevich back in the lineup after he was forced to remain in Seattle due to Canada's Covid rules. Take the over (10*).