St. Louis went from two straight shutouts to nine goals in two games. Now the Blues face a Rangers team that has allowed at least four in each of its last four losses. New York is a slight home favorite Tuesday, and how much of the Blues’ scoring burst carries over will help determine how much the Rangers need from their own offense.
St. Louis made its shots count in Detroit
The Blues beat Boston 4–1 before coming back from two down in the third period to beat Detroit 5–4. They scored on their only shot on goal in the first period, and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki’s first NHL goal put them ahead for good. St. Louis scored five times on 15 shots against John Gibson. That’s a lot of scoring from relatively few shots. AP recap of the Detroit game
Our shot projections put both teams around 25. That gives St. Louis room to put more pucks on net than it did against Gibson. The clearer difference in our assessment is on offense, where the Rangers grade C and the Blues D+. That’s part of the case for New York at DraftKings’ −125 moneyline. The Rangers scored at least three in three of those four losses. A few more stops could give that scoring a chance to hold up.
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What the goalies could mean for a total of 5.5
Dylan Garand stopped 21 of 24 against Edmonton on Sunday, with the Oilers adding their fourth goal into an empty net. AP recap of the Edmonton game
Garand and Joel Hofer are both listed as possible starters. In their last five appearances, Garand stopped about 87% for New York, including one outing in relief, and Hofer stopped about 93% for St. Louis. Hofer’s stretch included 31 saves on 32 shots against Boston and four goals allowed on 28 shots against Detroit.
DraftKings priced the over at −130 on Tuesday morning. In three of New York’s last four games, the Rangers scored at least three and allowed at least five. Hofer’s recent saves give St. Louis a way to keep the score down if he starts, particularly if the Blues get fewer goals from their shots than they did in Detroit. Sunday’s 4–1 loss to Edmonton shows how a game can still finish below 5.5 even when the Rangers allow four.
Watch how often the Blues get pucks on net early. If they’re creating more chances than they did in Detroit, there’s a clearer path to keeping the scoring going. If New York limits those looks, its own attack has more room to decide the game, and getting past Hofer could be the difference for the total if he’s in net.
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