St. Louis vs Florida Prediction 7 February 2025

🔊 Can the "Bluesmen" return to their winning ways? St. Louis is clinging to minimal chances of making the playoffs. After a series of setbacks, the team managed to earn points twice in a row, but it is still too little. Florida, on the other hand, is calmly moving towards achieving its intermediate goal - making the playoffs. Even occasional slip-ups do not stop the champions.

📊 Head-to-Head

In the current regular season, the opponents have already met. In the third decade of December, the "Panthers" barely secured a win on their home ice (2:1 OT). Moreover, that success was a comeback; the "Bluesmen" were the first to score. The decisive contribution to his team's success was made by Florida's center forward Aleksander Barkov. The Finn first made an assist and then scored the winning puck. The hockey player is currently in excellent form and has scored points in four consecutive games.

🔵 St. Louis

The "Bluesmen" are struggling to emerge from a full-blown crisis that hit the team in the midst of the battle for a playoff spot. After a series of failures, Jim Montgomery's squad managed to defeat Utah (2:1) and then put up a real fight against Edmonton, losing to one of the Western leaders only in overtime (2:3). However, this is catastrophically insufficient for significant improvement in tournament standings. The team is already six points behind the coveted eighth spot in the conference, and it is becoming increasingly hard to believe they can bridge this gap.

🔴 Florida

Paul Maurice's squad knows well the importance of regular season games and views them only through the lens of decisive Stanley Cup matchups. Therefore, the team kicks into full gear only when necessary. In their last five games, the "Panthers" suffered two losses, against Vegas (1:4) and Washington (3:6). In both cases, the team chose not to rush in the end and deliberately refrained from exerting total pressure. They understand that the main battles are still ahead and are not going to dissipate their energy.

🔗 Probable Lineups

St. Louis: Binnington - Parayko, Broberg - Buchnevich, Thomas, Neighbours

Florida: Bobrovsky - Ekblad, Forsling - Reinhart, Barkov, Verhaeghe

🥅 Goalkeepers

St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington seems to have heard the criticism directed at him and has started performing more effectively on the ice. In his last two games, he managed for the first time in a long while to maintain a save percentage above 90% and brought his team long-awaited points. If the Canadian continues to play like this, then perhaps the "Bluesmen" will have a chance at ultimate success.

Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had his first poor performance in a while. In Washington, he failed to fully showcase his skills. The Russian saved only 83% of shots on goal and was one of those responsible for the 3:6 defeat. However, there is no doubt about the veteran's skill level, and he is expected to make a significant impact again.

📝 Editorial Prediction

Yes, the "Bluesmen" need to save their season and earn points at all costs, but against their current opponent, effort alone will not suffice. The champions occasionally slip up, but they haven't had a series of losses for a very long time. The "Panthers," in their current form, easily deal with most opponents, encountering difficulties only rarely. This time Paul Maurice's squad should confidently secure their routine points. Our key bet is Florida's victory in regulation time.