NHL best bets: Golden Knights vs. Blues odds, preview, prediction for 3/25

Golden Knights vs. Blues Odds

Monday, March 25, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN+

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

Vegas Golden Knights

After an ice-cold February, the Golden Knights are 5-2-0 since the trade deadline, and that has kept them in the playoff hunt. The big concern from their home win over Columbus on Saturday was Adin Hill leaving the game in the third period and telling coach Bruce Cassidy that he didn't feel 100%.

Hill missed most of two months earlier in the season, which makes this especially worrisome, especially with the playoffs looming and Vegas kicking off a four-game Central Division road trip with a back-to-back set.

Regardless of Hill's status, Logan Thompson was always set to get the start in St. Louis on Monday. He has been the hotter of the two stoppers lately and is at 2.6 Goals Saved Above Expected and a .905 Save Percentage for the year.

Outside of the crease, the defending Stanley Cup champs are playing some quality hockey, with an Expected Goals Share of 55.84% at 5-on-5 over the last 10 games. That's with two of their most important leaders, Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo, on the sidelines with injuries. Pietrangelo has missed the last three games due to illness and has been listed as questionable for this road trip.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues have stayed in the playoff hunt with wins in six of their last seven games. Now they're starting a four-game homestand with a 21-12-1 record at Enterprise Center this season.

Both of their goalies have been playing well — into double digits in Goals Saved Above Expected. Jordan Binnington usually gets the nod for big games, but he has also allowed four goals in each of his last two games, while Joel Hofer has given up just five in total in his last three starts — all victories.

The Blues offense has also been effective through this recent stretch of games. Jordan Kyrou's hat trick against Minnesota on Saturday gave him back-to-back three-point games, and St. Louis now boasts five players with more than 20 goals this season.

Special teams haven't been great: the power play is 0-for-6 over the last three games, while the penalty kill has gone 5-for-7 over the same stretch. Even though the Blues have a winning record under coach Drew Bannister and are pushing for a playoff spot, their Puck Possession Rate is among the lowest in the league, with a 5-on-5 Expected Goals Share of 43.46%. It's actually a little lower over the last 10 games, at 42.51%.

The Blues' goaltending is doing a lot of the heavy lifting through this streak.

Golden Knights vs. Blues

Betting Pick & Prediction

The Golden Knights' improved record has coincided with a heavy dose of home games — and they are much better at T-Mobile Arena than they are as visitors. Even though the early betting lines peg them as moneyline favorites up to -150, their goaltending uncertainty and St. Louis' own success rate on home ice makes this a favorable spot to look to the underdog at plus money.

The Blues fought hard to take two points out of Minnesota on Saturday, they're getting strong goaltending, and their scorers are starting to play with more confidence. That should add up to a home-ice win as the battle for that wild-card berth continues.

Pick: Blues Moneyline +125 (PointsBet | Play to +105)