Welcome back to NHL Predictions here at Last Word On Hockey, where we provide analysis, insights, and predictions for upcoming NHL games. Tonight, the St. Louis Blues play their third game of a four-game road trip, looking for valuable points against the Anaheim Ducks.

NHL Predictions with St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks

Time: 10:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time

How to Watch TV: SN, TVAS, FDSNMW, KMOV-TV, Matrix Midwest, Victory+, KCOP-13

2025-2026 Season Series: 1-1-0
Location: Honda Center in Anaheim, California

So far for the St. Louis Blues, a road trip that had the potential to get them back into a Stanley Cup Playoff spot has been nothing but gut-wrenching at best. After fighting back only to lose in the last minute of regulation against the Sharks, the Blues battled the Kings to overtime on Wednesday. Once again, they fell short. Since both San Jose and Los Angeles are teams the Blues are trailing, dropping three of those points hurts more than any other time in the season.

Anaheim is also feeling the sting of a late defeat. Those very same San Jose Sharks scored late in regulation against Anaheim on Wednesday, not allowing the Ducks to build more points atop the Pacific Division. It’s hard to see Anaheim falling out of the playoffs with only seven games remaining, but they certainly are not a lock for first place in their division.

Credit Image: © Alex Cave/ZUMA Press Wire

These two teams are desperate for points for vastly different reasons. St. Louis is not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Counting the 2018-29 Stanley Cup run, St. Louis has won 10+ games in a row three different times. With only eight games left, 16 points could propel them quite far. Unfortunately, former Blues coach Joel Quenneville has the bench for Anaheim and he has led that young club to the top of the Pacific Division, and fourth in the Western Conference.

Heartbreak on the 101

While the weather may be sunny and bright in California, the mood around the Blues is not. In the month of March, the Blues were one of the best teams in the NHL. They managed to play themselves out of the basement of the league and into talks about the final Western Conference Wild Card playoff spot. What a better chance to solidify their place than beating the teams ahead of them.

That has been far from the case. Instead of entering tonight two points out of the playoffs, they are sitting back needing five teams ahead of them to lose every night. Even though this trip has not eliminated St. Louis entirely, their path to the playoffs is far from within their own control.

While Anaheim has their rookie sensation leading the charge, the Blues have one of their own. Jimmy Snuggerud was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for March. He had seven goals and eight assists which helped lead the Blues resurgence. Snuggerud will be a core piece of the Blues for a long time to come. After posting four points in seven playoff games last year, Snuggerud and the Blues are anxious to get back into the post season and make some noise.

The Battle for California

Ducks fans that made the drive up Interstate 101 from Anaheim were left shocked and speechless after their game Wednesday night. Anaheim controlled most of the game, and were looking to gain points on the idle Edmonton Oilers. Those Sharks, led by Macklin Celebrini just would not go away. They tied the game late at three with less than two minutes left before stealing both points from the Ducks in the last 30 seconds of regulation. 

The Anaheim Ducks have not played a playoff game since the 2017-2018 season (where they were ironically swept by the Sharks). In that time period, they have had five different head coaches. Only Joel Quenneville seems to have been able to take this young core and guide them back. Quenneville is second all-time in wins for a coach (1002), trailing the first coach in Blues history Scotty Bowman. 307 of those wins came behind the bench of the St. Louis Blues. With the play of the team in front of him, there is no doubt that ‘Coach Q’ will be up for consideration for the Jack Awards award, given to the best coach during the regular season. 

A huge part of the Ducks success aside from Coach Q is the play of rookie phenom Beckett Sennecke. In 75 games this year, he has posted 22 goals and 35 assists. Fortunately, forwards Cutter Gauthier and Leo Carlsson are scoring at a higher pace, which helps take pressure off of the kid.  With their play and more consistency from goaltender Lukas Dostal, the Ducks are poised for a run at the Pacific Division crown.

NHL Predictions:

The St. Louis Blues had multiple chances to win the game against L.A. on Wednesday night. At one point during the game, they had 16 of their shots blocked while another 16 had missed the net entirely. These are the things that will keep teams from the playoffs every year. At this point in the year, the team needs to have a short memory and try hard to not watch the scoreboard. The only thing that the players can control in their own game. Head coach Jim Montgomery knows this as well as anyone and he will look to have the Blues ready to roll in Anaheim. 

Prediction: St. Louis wins 5-3. 

Prop Bets:

The over/under for this game is set at six  goals. With a predicted eight goals scored, we’re taking the over at -115. Potential future Blues captain Jake Neighbours has been playing exceptionally well, so we will take him with a goal at +350. Sennecke is hard to go against for the Ducks, so we’ll take him with a goal tonight at +240.

Main Photo Credit: Ryan Sun-Imagn Images

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