G48 New Jersey Devils @ St. Louis Blues: Offense? Offense!

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A few things to watch when the New Jersey Devils take on the St. Louis Blues in search of their second win in a row:

Offense? Offense!

On first glance, a game between a Devils and Blues doesn’t seem likely to be eventful. The Devils have struggled finishing chances since The Stone Age while the Blues, generally, are a responsible, defense-first team. No goals, right? Wrong; this game has real potential to surprise.

From the New Jersey side of things, they’re struggling defensively and rarely get a save. Across all situations, they’re giving up nearly three expected goals per 60 over the last 10 games. With the level of goaltending they get most nights, three expected equates to, like, 13 actual goals. Don’t check the math on that.

Meanwhile, the Blues would struggle to defend against a peewee team right now. They’ve allowed an average of 3.41 xG per 60 over the last 10 games, which slots them 28th in the NHL; just ahead of Anaheim, Columbus, Montreal, and Buffalo. Great company.

With both teams giving struggling to suppress chances, there could be some fireworks in this one; especially if the goaltending isn’t good.

That brings me to my next question…