Minnesota at St. Louis

A pair of strong teams meet, but home ice will be key. St. Louis is unbeaten at home while Minnesota is a .500 road team. Minnesota is playing its fourth game in five nights after a 5-4 win over the defending champs at home last night. Minnesota is not a stellar defensive team, 20th in goals allowed and 26th in penalty killing, both of which have hurt on the road. Minnesota is 0-2-1 in its last three away from home. With Devan Dubnyk starting Friday, Minnesota may have to use Darcy Kuemper, who gave up four goals in 20:51 in his most recent start Sunday in Winnipeg. The Wild are also 15-48 away against a team with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. They will look for a slower tempo as Minnesota is 6-1-1 UNDER the total playing on no days rest. While Minnesota played last night, St. Louis is rested, and the team is 37-18 playing on one day of rest. The Blues play their fourth straight home game on a 6-2 run. St. Louis has claimed five out of six points on a five-game homestand with a 2-1 victory against Anaheim on Thursday. The Blues are 69-32 at home, plus 5-0 against the Western Conference. St. Louis is also on a 4-0 run UNDER the total with the No. 6 defense in the NHL, including 4-0-2 UNDER at home. The Wild are 3-7 in the last 10 meetings in St. Louis, so grab home ice in a defensive battle. Play St. Louis and the UNDER.