{"id":459930,"date":"2025-01-03T09:39:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T14:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=459930"},"modified":"2025-01-03T09:39:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T14:39:54","slug":"nhl-predictions-january-3-st-louis-blues-vs-ottawa-senators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/01\/03\/nhl-predictions-january-3-st-louis-blues-vs-ottawa-senators\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: January 3rd St. Louis Blues vs Ottawa Senators"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to NHL Predictions! Just like in 2024, our prediction goal remains the same in the year. We go around the league and take a look at games. We highlight key storylines, give our prediction, and then give our thoughts regarding prop bets. Our prediction today takes us to the state of Missouri. The three-time Winter Classic-winning <\/span>St. Louis Blues<\/span> host the <\/span>Ottawa Senators<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/span><\/h2>\n

St. Louis Blues vs. Ottawa Senators<\/span><\/h3>\n

Time:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/span><\/p>\n

TV:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>FanDuel Sports Network Midwest; The Sports Network; ESPN+<\/span><\/p>\n

Head-to-Head<\/span><\/h4>\n

The Blues and Senators meet for the second time this season. The teams <\/span>met in Ottawa<\/span><\/a> in late October. The Senators cruised to an 8-1 victory. Tim St\u00fctzle scored two goals and added two assists. In addition, <\/span>Brady Tkachuk<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>former Blue<\/span><\/a> Adam Gaudette<\/span><\/a> each scored twice. <\/span>Joel Hofer<\/span><\/a> struggled in goal for the Blues, allowing five goals before eventually being replaced.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the Senators win Friday, they will win the season series with the Blues for the first time since the 2013-14 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blues Head Back Inside<\/span><\/h4>\n

The Blues return to indoor hockey after winning the <\/span>2025 Winter Classic<\/span><\/a> on Tuesday. Defenceman <\/span>Cam Fowler<\/span><\/a>, playing in his 1,000th NHL game, scored twice. <\/span>Jordan Kyrou<\/span><\/a> scored his third Winter Classic goal, which ties him for the most in Winter Classic history. <\/span>Jordan Binnington<\/span><\/a> was spectacular between the pipes, making multiple key saves. Binnington ended an otherwise <\/span>rough December<\/span><\/a> on a positive note.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fowler enters Friday’s game on milestone watch. The defenceman is one goal away from 100 career goals. It will be interesting to see if Fowler can start 2025 the same way he ended 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the<\/span> Blues<\/span>, <\/span>they<\/span> enter January in the mix for the Stanley Cup Playoffs<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> They currently sit just three points out of the final playoff spot. The team has not made the playoffs since the 2021-22 season. Despite being in a retool, the Blues are committed to playing competitive hockey. The playoffs are a realistic goal. <\/span>Now that January is here,<\/span> we are officially on the road to the playoffs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Senators Clinging to the Final Eastern Conference Spot<\/span><\/h4>\n

Like the Blues, the Senators are looking to end a playoff drought. However, the Senators are dealing with a <\/span>longer<\/span> drought. The team last made the playoffs in 2017, one win away from the Stanley Cup Final.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team’s offence has played a <\/span>big<\/span> role in their position in the standings. Three players enter the New Year with 30+ points: Tim Stutzle, <\/span>Drake Batherson<\/span><\/a>, and Brady Tkachuk. Between the pipes, <\/span>Linus Ullmark<\/span><\/a> is having<\/span> a strong <\/span>first season with the Sens<\/span><\/a>, posting a .938 goals-against average.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Senators have lost three of their last four. However, the team preceded this by winning six games in a row.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team will be playing the second of back-to-back games when they play in St. Louis on Friday. We can expect a different lineup and goaltender from what we see <\/span>on Thursday<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prediction<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Blues come into Friday with three days of rest. The Senators, meanwhile, are playing for the second day in a row. We are going with the team that is not only well-rested but has been scoring quite a few goals lately.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prediction: Blues win, 6-2.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bets<\/span><\/h3>\n

The over\/under for the game <\/span>is set<\/span> at 5.5 goals. We are taking the over with eight combined goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Blues prop bets, we <\/span>are going to<\/span> pick someone who had a fantastic game at the Winter Classic. Defenceman <\/span>Justin Faulk<\/span><\/a> scored a goal and added two assists on Tuesday. We are choosing him as an anytime goal-scorer for the Blues. For the Senators, we are picking veteran <\/span>Claude Giroux<\/span><\/a> as an anytime goal-scorer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling\u00a0problem? Call\u00a01-800-GAMBLER.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to NHL Predictions! Just like in 2024, our prediction goal remains the same in the year. We go around the league and take a look at games. We highlight key storylines, give our prediction, and then give our thoughts regarding prop bets. Our prediction today takes us to the state of Missouri. The three-time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3464,"featured_media":459990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4524,4547,4548,8,32],"tags":[847,1099],"class_list":["post-459930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhl-predictions","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-senators","category-blues","tag-claude-giroux","tag-justin-faulk"],"modified_by":"Alec Roberson","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3464"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459930"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":459991,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459930\/revisions\/459991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}