St. Louis Blues vs Nashville Predators Picks and Predictions for Saturday October 17 2026
You know what’s funny about St. Louis? The Blues couldn’t buy a goal for a couple of games, and now they’re scoring like somebody told them the nets were twice as big. Sixteen goals in their last three games. Not bad. Of course, they just gave up five to Minnesota and lost, so maybe somebody ought to remind them there’s another end of the ice. Nashville has the opposite problem. The Predators are having trouble scoring, and Thursday they needed a goal with less than a second left just to get to overtime against San Jose. These two Central Division rivals meet Saturday, October 17, 2026, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM ET. The betting market has been all over the place, with one recent board making Nashville a fairly sizable favorite. I don’t buy that price. Not with the way the Blues have been scoring. Check out our free NHL picks for more NHL predictions throughout the season.
St. Louis Blues Are Scoring, But Somebody Forgot The Defense
St. Louis is 3-3-1 overall and 2-2-0 on the road. The Blues have been a pretty entertaining team lately, although I’m guessing their coach would prefer a little less excitement. They beat Columbus 5-3, went into Ottawa and hammered the Senators 7-2, then lost 5-4 in Minnesota Thursday. That Minnesota game was a strange one. St. Louis fell behind 5-2, scored twice late, and nearly pulled off a comeback. Give them credit for not quitting. But I have to ask, where was that urgency earlier? The Blues have scored at least four goals in three straight games, and they’ve only won two of them. That’s the kind of thing that drives you nuts when you’ve got a ticket on them.
The Blues have scored 25 goals through seven games, or 3.57 per night. They’ve also allowed 23, which works out to 3.29. See the problem? They’re putting up enough offense to win most nights, but they’re giving too much of it right back. They allowed six to Colorado earlier this month and five to Minnesota Thursday. On the other hand, they shut out Dallas 4-0 to open the season, so we know they’re capable of playing some defense when they put their minds to it. Their last three games have produced 26 combined goals. Twenty-six! That’s a lot of rubber finding the back of the net. Nashville hasn’t been scoring much, but the Predators might find some opportunities against a St. Louis defense that’s been a little too generous.
The Blues have gotten some good production from their top forwards lately. Their leading scorer has been involved in several big goals, and one of their younger offensive players has three goals over the last two games. The blue line has been helping out, too, with one defenseman picking up three assists against Minnesota. But there are some holes in the lineup. Pavel Buchnevich has been away for personal reasons, and his availability for Saturday remains uncertain. Torey Krug is out with an ankle injury, while Tyler Tucker and Logan Mailloux are also sidelined. Alexey Toropchenko remains out with an upper-body injury. Those defensive absences aren’t helping a team that’s already giving up more than three goals a game. St. Louis can absolutely win Saturday. I’d just feel better if the Blues weren’t making their goalies work so darn hard.
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Nashville Predators Need Somebody To Start Scoring
Nashville is 2-2-3 overall and has lost three straight. The Predators lost 3-2 to San Jose in a shootout Thursday, and I’ll tell you, that was a tough one to watch if you were pulling for Nashville. They were down 2-1 late in the third period and tied it with 0.8 seconds left. Less than a second! You figure a comeback like that might give them some momentum heading into overtime. Nope. They couldn’t finish the job and lost in the shootout. That’s been Nashville’s problem. The Predators keep hanging around, but they aren’t finding ways to finish games. They’ve got seven points through seven games, so it’s not like they’ve been getting blown out every night. But eventually you’ve got to turn those close games into wins.
The Predators have scored 18 goals in seven games, which is 2.57 per night. They’ve allowed 20, or 2.86. Those numbers aren’t terrible defensively, but the offense has been a headache. Nashville has scored two goals or fewer in five of its seven games. Five out of seven! That’s asking an awful lot of your goaltender. The Predators have been better at keeping games close than St. Louis, but they haven’t been generating enough offense to make me comfortable backing them as a big favorite. Their power play has been one of the brighter spots, and they got another goal with the man advantage against San Jose. That’s something to watch because St. Louis has been giving up chances lately. But if Nashville keeps scoring two goals a night, it doesn’t matter how good the power play looks.
Nashville’s top offensive contributors have been doing most of the heavy lifting. Their leading scorer has seven points, and the team’s top offensive defenseman has six. That’s respectable production, but the Predators need more help from the rest of the lineup. Their starting goalie made 30 saves against San Jose Thursday and kept them in the game when the offense wasn’t doing much. He’s been stopping better than 91% of the shots he’s faced this season, which is a pretty good number considering the pressure he’s been under. Nashville is dealing with injuries, too. Mavrik Bourque is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and William Trudeau remains out with an upper-body problem. Justus Annunen has also been listed as unavailable, leaving the goaltending depth thinner than they’d like. The Predators have enough talent to win this game, but somebody has to start putting the puck in the net.
St. Louis Blues vs Nashville Predators Picks and Predictions
St. Louis Blues Moneyline (+166)
I’m taking St. Louis, and the price is a big part of it. We’re getting +166 on a team that’s scored 16 goals in its last three games. Nashville has scored 18 all season. Now, I know the Blues have been giving up too many goals, and that’s what makes this a little uncomfortable. Minnesota just put five on them, and Colorado scored six earlier this month. But Nashville isn’t Minnesota or Colorado offensively. The Predators have scored two goals or fewer in five of seven games, and I don’t see why I’m supposed to lay a big price on that. St. Louis has been playing some pretty good offensive hockey, and even when the Blues fell behind Minnesota, they kept coming. Could Nashville’s goalie steal this one? Absolutely. He’s been good enough to do it. But at +166, I like the team that’s actually finding the back of the net. Give me the Blues to grab two points on the road.
Over 5.5 Goals
I’m going over 5.5, and I know what you’re thinking. Nashville can’t score. Fair point. But St. Louis has been playing some pretty loose hockey lately, and the Blues have enough offense to do a lot of the work themselves. Their last three games finished 5-3, 7-2, and 5-4. Every one of those games went over 5.5, and none was particularly close to staying under. Nashville has been struggling offensively, but the Predators did score four against Toronto and five against Montreal earlier this month. So it’s not like they’re completely incapable of scoring. The thing that worries me is Nashville’s goalie. He’s been playing well, and if he turns this into another 2-1 game, we’re in trouble. But St. Louis has been giving up chances, and Nashville should get a few looks. I can see the Blues winning 4-2, or maybe Nashville finally gets its offense going and we get a 4-3 game. Either way, I like the over 5.5.
Final Picks: St. Louis Blues Moneyline (+166) and Over 5.5 Goals
This article was completed on October 16, 2026. Betting odds, starting goaltenders, and injury reports may change before puck drop.
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