NHL best bets: Blackhawks vs. Blues odds, preview, prediction for 4/10

Blackhawks vs. Blues Odds

Wednesday, April 10, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Odds via bet365. Get up-to-the-minute NHL odds here.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks are mired near the NHL basement, of course. But they have recently played spoiler against a couple of teams with playoff aspirations — beating the Dallas Stars and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Front-and-center is Connor Bedard. Since returning from his fractured jaw on Feb. 15, Bedard has posted 26 points in 24 games and seen his ice time spike to an average of 20:54 a game, tops among all Chicago forwards. To help satisfy Bedard's hunger for game action, coach Luke Richardson has been playing him on the wing as well as at center, aiming to get him into the mix as much as possible.

Buoyed by Bedard, the Blackhawks are a pretty-respectable 20th in scoring since the March 8 trade deadline, averaging 2.79 goals per game, and their power play has been clicking at an impressive 26.3%.

With a 7-7-0 record overall, their defensive numbers aren't bad, either — although their 77.3% penalty kill isn't doing them many favors. Their expected goals share at 5-on-5 also ranks among the bottom-dwellers, at 43.91%, but Petr Mrazek continues to excel in net under challenging circumstances. He has given up just seven goals in total over his last four games, and is up to a .908 save percentage and 1.9 goals saved above expected for the year.

Mrazek is confirmed to be starting on Wednesday.

In other roster news, Nick Foligno won't be in the lineup against St. Louis, for personal reasons. Defenseman Connor Murphy practiced as a seventh defenseman on Tuesday as he recovers from a groin injury that has kept him out of the lineup since mid-January, but he isn't expected to get back into game action until this weekend.

St. Louis Blues

With a 9-4-2 record since the trade deadline, the Blues have made a late push for a playoff spot. But, they're now starting to run out of runway. With four games left to play, they're five points behind the Vegas Golden Knights, who are currently in the second wild-card spot in the West.

Jordan Binnington has been critical to the playoff push, channeling his 2019 Cup-winning form to the tune of 12.0 goals saved above expected and a .911 save percentage. But he has faltered in his last two starts, giving up nine goals in total against Nashville and Anaheim.

Offensively, the Blues' top performers since the deadline have been Jordan Kyrou, with 15 points in 15 games, and Brandon Saad with eight goals, including three game-winners. Jake Neighbours has also chipped in three winners, but he'll miss a second game on Wednesday with an upper-body issue that's listed as day-to-day. Defenseman Justin Faulk is also now considered week-to-week with an upper-body issue, and Oskar Sundqvist is out for the year with a torn ACL.

Now nine games over .500, the Blues are 28-18-4 since Drew Bannister took over behind the bench in mid-December. Over a full season, that pace would be enough to seize a playoff spot, even though their 5-on-5 puck possession game under Bannister has been decidedly sub-par, with control of just 43.16% of expected goals.

Goaltending and a decent power play have been the keys to their successes. The man advantage has been coming through lately — connecting on 6-of-24 chances over the last six games.

Blackhawks vs. Blues

Betting Pick & Prediction

Though these two teams are separated by 37 points in the standings, their recent performances have been much more equitable. And over the last week, it isn't a stretch to point out that Chicago has been getting the better goaltending.

So a Blackhawks moneyline that's as high as +210 at some shops as of Tuesday evening should turn bettors' heads.

And despite the fact that Chicago went nearly four months without a road win between November and March, the Blackhawks improved in that regard recently, to 3-5-0 away from the United Center since March 5.

Back in December, Mrazek had a 38-save performance as the Blackhawks took down the Blues 3-1 on home ice. A similar outcome could unfold at Enterprise Center on Wednesday — and there's plenty of value in backing the visitors.

Pick: Blackhawks Moneyline (+210 at bet365; play down to +170)