Blues vs Rangers Prediction & Odds (Nov 3)

Rangers vs Blues Prediction Starts With the Goalie Crease

Three New York Rangers goaltenders are on the injury report, and D. Garand has started five of the last five games in goal. That is the sharpest fact on this card. The St. Louis Blues come into Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, November 3 at 7:00 PM ET with their own split crease, J. Hofer having started three of the last five. Two teams hovering near .500, one position group that decides the night.

The Matchup

As of publication on October 27, the Blues sit at 5-5-1 and sixth of eight in the Central Division. The Rangers are 7-6-1. Those are records to date, not records entering this game, because a week of hockey happens first. The season series starts here on November 3, so there is no head to head form and no revenge angle to lean on.

Over the last five games, New York has scored 3.2 goals per game and allowed 2.6, on 25.6 shots per game. St. Louis has scored 4.0 and allowed 3.2 over its last five, on 26.6 shots per game. The Blues shoot a bit more and bleed a bit more.

Players to Watch

Adam Fox leads the Rangers with a season total of 17 in 14 games played, a rate of 1.2 per game, and he has appeared in every one of his team's 14 games. Mason McTavish leads the Blues with 10 in 11 games played, 0.9 per game. The games played differ, so the only fair read is the per game rate, and Fox owns it. A defenseman driving a team's offense is a different lever than a forward doing it, and it is one the Blues have to account for every shift he is out there.

The Numbers: Who Is Favored to Win Blues vs Rangers?

Odds are not posted for this game yet, so nobody can honestly tell you who is favored. Here is what will appear. The moneyline is the simplest bet in hockey: pick the winner, overtime and shootout included. The puck line is hockey's spread, almost always 1.5 goals, so the favorite must win by two or more while the underdog gets a goal and a half of cushion. The total, or over/under, is one number covering both teams' goals combined.

Every price carries an implied probability, the chance that price says an outcome has. Add both sides and the total runs past 100 percent. That extra slice is the vig, the house's cut baked into the price. When Blues odds and Rangers odds post, compare three or four books first. The same side is often a few cents better somewhere else, and collecting those cents is the whole job.

Injuries: Is Igor Shesterkin Playing?

Not according to the latest report. ESPN's October 27 report lists six New York names: Igor Shesterkin on injured reserve, Joonas Korpisalo on injured reserve, James Reimer day to day, plus Joe Veleno, Adam Sykora and Aidan Thompson on injured reserve. Three of those six are goaltenders. St. Louis lists five: Torey Krug, Logan Mailloux and Tyler Tucker on injured reserve, all defensemen, plus Dillon Dube and Ross Johnston on injured reserve. Day to day means uncertain and nothing more. Confirm final statuses on Tuesday, November 3 before puck drop.

Where the Value Is

With no prices up, we cannot run the dollar math, and we will not invent it. Expected value is simply the average dollar result per $100 risked if you made the same bet over and over. If your read says a side wins more often than the de-vigged percentage implies, the number is worth taking. If not, pass. Our matchup lean is New York. Home ice, a defenseman producing 1.2 per game across 14 games, and a Blues group missing three defensemen is the shape we want, even with the Rangers' crease thinned to one recent starter.

The Pick

Our Blues vs Rangers prediction: we lean the New York Rangers on the moneyline, meaning straight up to win including overtime. No price and no book attached yet, because the market has not posted. When it does, take the best Rangers moneyline available across books, and walk away if New York opens as a heavier favorite than this profile supports. This is Wise Guy Desk analysis, not a documented official play.

The Prediction

Rangers 3, Blues 2. New York's last five sit at 3.2 goals for and 2.6 against, St. Louis at 4.0 and 3.2, which reads like a game that lives in the three-goal neighborhood on both ends with the home side a shade tighter defensively. Garand has carried the net five straight starts, and the Blues' blue line is short three names. That is the read on an unpriced number; the Desk posts a documented free play on days like this, and it sits right below.