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Blues vs. Red Wings Picks & Predictions for Wednesday, February 13, 2013    
By Anthony Rome

DETROIT, MI (The Spread) – The Blues have been a disaster of late but will a switch in goaltending spark St. Louis when it takes on the Red Wings tonight at 7:30PM ET?

ODDS: According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Red Wings are -120 money line favorites over the Blues, who are EVEN on the ML. The total, meanwhile, is sitting at 5.5 goals and the Blues are +1.5 (-275) on the Canadian Line. The Wings are -1.5 with +235 odds on the alternative line.

LINE MOVEMENT: The Red Wings opened as -185 money line favorites but their line has dropped all the way down to -120, while the Blues have gone from +170 underdogs to EVEN on the money line. Perhaps the announcement of youngster Jake Allen making a start has convinced oddsmakers that St. Louis will play with more focus and intensity than it has over the past week.

PUBLIC BETTING: Of the wagers that have currently been placed on this game, 55% of bettors favor the Red Wings. This information is subject to change, however, so click on the link provided for the most updated public betting stats.

NHL FREE PICK: Take Detroit. According to latest NHL trends, the Blues are 0-5 in their last five games overall, 0-5 in their last five games versus the Western Conference and 1-4 in their last five games on Wednesday. The Wings, meanwhile, are 5-2 in their last seven games overall, 5-2 in their last seven games versus the Western Conference and 9-4 in their last 13 games playing on 2 days of rest.

The Blues’ decision to start Allen in goal tonight was a no-brainer considering how poorly Brian Elliott has played of late. But St. Louis’ issues right now run much deeper than goaltending. The vaunted defense that carried the team into the second round of the playoffs has disappeared and despite its offensive explosion earlier in the year, Ken Hitchcock’s squad has been punchless over its four-game losing streak. As Hitchcock has stated over the past couple of days, the Blues are cheating themselves with selfish play on both ends of the ice. And given how they haven’t won in Detroit since March 30, 2011, look for the Blues to fall again tonight.

WEDNESDAY NHL FREE PICK: DETROIT RED WINGS -120


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