St. Louis vs Vegas Prediction 24 January 2025

🔊 Will the "Bluesmen" defeat their opponent for the second time in a row? St. Louis continues its pursuit of a spot in the Western Conference playoff eight and has recently excelled in this endeavor. The club has been consistently earning points, allowing them to get close to the playoff zone. Vegas, on the other hand, remains one of the leaders of the Western Conference but has fallen into a full-fledged playing crisis. The "Knights" remain at the top of the standings only due to past successes.

📊 Head-to-head

In the current regular season, the opponents have met twice and exchanged victories on the ice in Nevada. First, the "Knights" won on their home ground (4:3), and then the "Bluesmen" returned the favor in the same venue (5:4 SO). The second meeting took place just two days ago and was quite intense. The most productive player in these encounters was St. Louis forward Pavel Buchnevich. The Russian recorded a total of two goals and as many assists. However, his current form cannot be considered optimal - in the last five matches, he scored points only once, precisely against Vegas.

🔵 St. Louis

Jim Montgomery's team does not lose faith in their abilities and is making maximum efforts to be in the Western playoff eight. Credit must be given to the "Bluesmen," as they have recently succeeded in this. In their last four matches, they lost only once, to Utah (2:4). While this cannot be called a full tournament surge, the team has now closely approached the playoff zone and is quite capable of challenging direct competitors.

⚫ Vegas

The "Knights" remain among the leaders and favorites of the West but have slipped into a full-fledged playing crisis. Bruce Cassidy's team has suffered six defeats in their last seven matches. The club is rapidly losing its stability in the standings and has only managed to defeat an even more crisis-stricken Minnesota (4:1) at this stage. The coaching staff is trying various options to rectify the situation and has repeatedly changed player combinations, but this has not led to the desired changes. The team risks slipping into a battle for a playoff spot.

📌 Projected Lineups

St. Louis: Binnington - Fowler, Parayko - Holloway, Schenn, Kyrou

Vegas: Samsonov - Pietrangelo, Hanifin - Stone, Eichel, Barbashev

🥅 Goalies

St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington has once again started playing with noticeable slumps. Quite impressive performances from a goaltending perspective are followed by outright failures. For instance, in his last two matches, the Canadian did not maintain a 90% save rate, and his team understandably lost to Utah (2:4). Even in the first encounter with Vegas, he was not impressive, conceding 4 goals.

Vegas goalie Ilya Samsonov now regularly appears on the ice, alternating playing time with his partner Adin Hill. However, this rotation does not benefit the team. The Russian failed twice in a row - against Nashville (81.8%) and Chicago (78.3%). It seems that the "Knights" can no longer mask numerous mistakes by their goalkeepers with a high level of attacking efficiency.

📝 Editor's Prediction

Yes, the "Bluesmen" won in the head-to-head encounter that took place two days ago. However, even then their advantage was not obvious, and they only achieved success in a shootout series. The confrontations between these teams in recent years have been extremely competitive, rarely concluding within regulation time. However, the overall advantage here is on the side of the "Knights." The Nevada team has not lost to their upcoming opponent in regulation time for seven consecutive matches. We are confident in the continuation of this trend. Our key bet is Vegas will not lose.