Blues vs Predators Picks & Props

A portion of their recent success has come at the expense of the Nashville Predators.

The surging Blues eye an eighth straight victory Thursday night when they oppose the Nashville Predators, a team they beat twice already in the past 10 days. Yet another victory would also mean a sweep of the four-game season series.

St. Louis (38-28-7, 83 points) has jumped into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference and is a mere two points back of the top wild-card berth thanks to its current 14-2-2 stretch. The Blues have been simply stellar while outscoring their opponents 34-10 during their seven-game winning streak.

"It starts with a belief in the group," St. Louis forward Philip Broberg said. "I think it also starts with a lot of hard work."

Broberg and Robert Thomas each had a goal with three assists while Dylan Holloway added one of each during a 6-1 home rout of the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Jordan Binnington made 24 saves to extend his winning streak to four games. In that span, he has posted a 1.73 goals-against average and .930 save percentage.

The Blues have not won eight games in a row since they strung together nine straight victories in April 2022.

"We're playing really confident right now," said Holloway, who has four goals and nine assists during an eight-game point streak.

"I think we've got a recipe that works and a game plan that everybody believes in. Guys are playing for each other, and it's a good vibe in here, for sure."

That recipe has worked this month against the Predators (27-36-8, 62 points), who took matching 4-1 losses to the Blues -- at Nashville on March 18 and at St. Louis on Sunday. The Blues also won 7-4 on their home ice over the Predators on Dec. 27.

Holloway has six assists against the Predators this season, while Thomas has two goals and four assists against them. Binnington made 31 saves against Nashville over the weekend. Backup Joel Hofer, who has stopped 86 of 91 shots during his current 3-0-1 starting stretch, has two victories over the Predators this season.

Nashville's disappointing season is nearing an end, although the Predators are 6-4-1 over their past 11 games. Luke Evangelista scored twice and Juuse Saros made 34 saves during a 3-1 win at Carolina on Tuesday for their second victory in three games.

"There hasn't been a lot of feeling good throughout the course of the year," said Evangelista, who has five points in the past three games.

"So, just to string a few solid games together here and get some wins, it's just a good feeling in the room. It's a lot more fun when things are clicking for us, and we're just going to keep looking to build."

Like most of the Predators, Saros has endured a rough season, but he recorded career victory No. 200 on Tuesday, and owns a 2.21 goals-against average while winning three of his past five starts. However, he has allowed nine goals in two starts versus St. Louis this season.

Backup Justus Annunen yielded three goals on 17 shots at St. Louis on Sunday.

Nashville star Filip Forsberg has three goals and four assists in the last five games, and 23 points in his past 13 home contests against the Blues.

--Field Level Media