NHL Quick Picks - St. Louis Blues at Anaheim Ducks

Saturday, October 17th – 10PM ET
Honda Center, Anaheim

The St. Louis Blues have yet to win on North American ice this season. After starting the year strong with two wins against Detroit in Sweden, the Blues have struggled since coming back, losing to Atlanta, Los Angeles, and most recently Phoenix. Their game against Phoenix was the first time all season that the Blues haven’t been down by at least two goals at some point during the game.

The Anaheim Ducks have won 3 of 4, the latest a 3-2 victory over Minnesota. Corey Perry scored twice and Jonas Hiller won his third straight start. It was the second time in two weeks the teams have met, with both times the Ducks shooting out to a 3-0 lead. Last week the Wild were able to come back for the victory, and they almost did so again on Tuesday. The Ducks can ill afford to give up leads like that, especially when the Sharks, the Stars and the emerging Kings are all in their division fighting for early season momentum.

What The Blues Have To Do To Win:

The Blues have a problem of falling behind early. They were able enough to come back against Detroit both times, but failed against the Thrashers and Kings. St. Louis has been outscored 7-3 in the first period, a stat no team wants any part of. They need to come out stronger to begin the game so they don’t spend the rest of the game playing catch up. Once you start playing catch up you start to get away from the type of game you want to play and are thus unable to dictate the tempo.

St. Louis is one of the least penalized teams in the league, and have been successful on the PK. Although it’s not translating into wins now, that sort of discipline helps in the long run. Their power play unit has also been effective. There are blocks in the season when effective special teams don’t translate into team success, but in the context of a full season, St. Louis is on the right track.

What The Ducks Have To Do To Win:

Make sure they can close out games. What’s unsettling about the game against the Wild was the fact that they did the same thing last week against that same Minnesota club. That game ended horribly for Anaheim as they blew a 3-0 third period lead and lost the game 4-3 in overtime. That’s not the makeup of a legit playoff team.

As much as they need to close games, the Ducks also have to start playing good hockey at the beginning of the game. Anaheim scored in the first period against Minnesota on Wednesday, the first tally they have had in the opening period all season. A combination of slow starts and weak finishes is not going to help Anaheim return to Stanley Cup contender status.

Outlook & Pick

The Ducks can’t score in the first period, the Blues can’t stop giving first period goals up. Something has got to give. St. Louis proved with last year’s amazing playoff run that there is legit talent, and sooner or later they’re going to break out with a big win. The Ducks have had problems closing out games, and there just seems to be that little something off with them this season. Maybe they miss Chris Pronger more than they’d like to admit. Whatever the case, they need to learn how to close out a game, or else they could be in for a disappointing season.

Pick: St. Louis Blues