Tuesday night was an underwhelming one on the ice. The Kings and Maple Leafs played to a sweat-free under of 6.5, but neither Filip Forsberg nor Brock Boeser came through on their shot props in order to give us a profitable night.
We'll look to bounce back with a pair of best bets for Wednesday's card.
The Blues may own a 3-3-1 record, but they sure look like one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. They've been horrific at both ends of the ice.
Only the Sharks have allowed shots at a higher clip during five-on-five play. The Blues give up quantity and quality, which is a recipe for disaster against Nathan MacKinnon and the high-powered Avalanche.
St. Louis has also struggled to generate offense at full strength. Not so coincidentally, the Sharks are the only team creating fewer expected goals per 60 minutes.
If not for Jordan Binnington and his sparkling .926 save percentage, things would look a whole lot worse.
Binnington's career save percentage sits at .907 through well over 200 games. We have plenty of data to suggest he's playing over his head right now. When he inevitably comes back to earth, things will get ugly in a hurry for the Blues.
The Avalanche could thump St. Louis. They're rightfully considered one of the true Stanley Cup contenders and are coming off back-to-back shutout defeats. Yes, two in a row.
They're back at home, they're angry, and they're no doubt chomping at the bit to get the miserable taste from their road trip out of their mouths.
The Avalanche own a 6-2 record, and all but one of their victories was by multiple goals (they outshot San Jose 52-21 in the exception).
Conversely, all but one of the Blues' defeats this season has come by multiple goals.
While it'd certainly be preferable for Cale Makar to play, I expect the Avalanche to take care of business with or without him.
Bet: Avalanche -1.5 (+105)
The Coyotes and Ducks have played in plenty of high-scoring affairs this season, but there are reasons to believe this game will be different.
At or near the top of the list is the goaltending matchup. Karel Vejmelka versus Lukas Dostal won't exactly pop off the page to the average viewer, but it's a really good battle.
Vejmelka owns a .926 save percentage through five games and has shown the ability to steal games with 40-50-plus-save performances when called upon in recent years.
Meanwhile, Dostal has goaltender-of-the-future potential in Anaheim. He finished higher than John Gibson in goals saved above expected last year and has looked nothing short of spectacular this season.
Dostal has posted a .921 save percentage behind an inexperienced Ducks defense that gives up its share of opportunities. He's already saved 5.8 goals above expectation, which ranks inside the league's top five.
Dostal finds himself in company with names like Thatcher Demko, Jake Oettinger, and Alexandar Georgiev. Pretty good.
There will likely be plenty of chances in this game. The Coyotes lack firepower beyond their top few players - even more so with Jason Zucker sidelined - and the Ducks are quite top-heavy as well.
Considering there isn't much pop in either bottom six, and since the goaltending should be strong at both ends, I see this total as half a puck too high.
Bet: Under 6.5 (-115)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ToddCordell.
Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.