Back Blues in Home Battle against Tired Panthers

Panthers vs. Blues, 8:00 ET

We took home a W yesterday in the game between the Panthers and the Wild. It wasn't exactly pretty but we got there in a shootout between the two squads. I personally thought it was going to be a bit easier but oh well. Now I see them playing again, in a back-to-back, and I think we have an opportunity to fade them.

My guess is that the Panthers are going to send in their backup goalie, Spencer Knight, tonight. While he is the backup, he's played really well for the Panthers this season. He is 9-7-3 and has the same goals against average (3.05) as the starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Knight hasn't played since the All-Star break, so he is either rusty or fresh... or both? It can be really hard to tell how someone will respond with a long layoff. He literally hasn't seen ice time in over a month. His last game was January 8th, and he allowed four goals in the game. He did face St. Louis once this year and it wasn't pretty - it was a five-goals-allowed game and the Panthers lost 5-4 in overtime. Still, he has a ton of talent and is very young, so it is possible this is just a blip on the radar for him. The Panthers have also been playing very well lately as I mentioned in yesterday's article. Tonight, though, is a tough spot.

Not only are the Blues the more rested team coming into tonight, thye have their top goaltender and are playing at home. They haven't played since February 11th, and they were at home in that game as well. So, no travel, playing a team's second goalie, and playing that same team that went to a shootout win the night before... and they are still the underdog? What gives? I'm not a hockey expert, I've made that very clear in these articles. If this was the NBA, even against some of the worst teams, the home team would likely be the favorite. The NHL doesn't have the same load management theories and other things though. In this, all of Florida's players are going to play, and in reality, Florida is a better team. Jordan Binnington is taking the net for the Blues - I assume, there really isn't any reason that he shouldn't be. He has a 19-18-3 record overall on the season and it doesn't really get any better (or worse) at home. He didn't play the Panthers earlier in the season in their only game. Binnington did allow five goals to the Coyotes the other night as the Blues escaped with the victory. He has to turn of his abilities if they are going to be able to win this one.

The Blues aren't playing the greatest hockey, but I've laid out my reasoning in a simple sentence above. The Blues are at home, more rested, and have their primary goalkeeper in net tonight. I don't know why they can't win this one and the victory is at plus money here. I'll take my shot at +115 that the Blues escape with a victory in this one.

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