St. Louis Blues vs Vegas Golden Knights 23 October 2026 Prediction

Vegas and St. Louis have different goals this season. The Golden Knights expect to compete for the Stanley Cup, while a playoff berth would be a success for the Blues. Vegas can strengthen its position atop the Western Conference with a second straight win over St. Louis.

St. Louis Has Struggled with Consistency

Manager Jim Montgomery’s team has followed winning streaks with losing ones. That inconsistency has kept St. Louis outside the Western Conference’s top eight.

The Blues opened their homestand with a 3-2 win over Winnipeg after two road losses. They fell 5-4 to Minnesota and 5-2 to Nashville. St. Louis held a lead in both losses but failed to earn a point. Against the Predators, the Blues led 2.6 to 2.3 in expected goals.

St. Louis Predicted Lineup: Hofer (Binnington) — Broberg, Barron — Snuggerud, Thomas, Holloway

Other Roster Players: Defensemen — Jiricek, Parayko, Fowler, Carlo; forwards — McMichael, McTavish, Berggren, Neighbours, Dvorsky, Buchnevich, Stenberg, Suter, Kaskimaki

Out: Mailloux, Tucker, Toropchenko, Dube, Johnston (all injured)

Manager: Jim Montgomery

Vegas Under Ryan Craig

Ryan Craig has made a solid start as Vegas manager, and the Golden Knights remain in contention for the Western Conference lead. They have dropped points, though.

Vegas has won three of its last five games, with the victories coming against less demanding opponents. Its losses were against Tampa Bay (6-2) and Minnesota (4-2). The Tampa Bay result was particularly frustrating for Vegas: it led 4.1 to 2.9 in expected goals but did not convert enough of its chances.

Vegas Predicted Lineup: Hart (Hill) — McNabb, Theodore — Barbashev, Eichel, Stone

Other Roster Players: Defensemen — Andersson, Lauzon, Hanifin, Coghlan; forwards — Howden, Karlsson, Marner, Connelly, Hertl, Lavoie, Bowman, Dowd, Gatcomb

Out: Olofsson, Wotherspoon (both injured)

Manager: Ryan Craig

Vegas Has the Edge in Recent Meetings

The Golden Knights have won three of their last four meetings with the Blues. St. Louis’s lone win in that stretch came in the 2025-26 season, 4-3. Vegas outshot the Blues 25-19 in that game and led 2.5 to 2.2 in expected goals, but St. Louis converted more of its chances.

Key Stats

Vegas generates 3.5 expected goals per game, fifth most in the NHL.

The Golden Knights’ power play converts at 25%, placing them among the league’s top seven teams.

St. Louis has scored on 12.3% of its shots on goal, a top-eight mark in the Western Conference.

St. Louis vs Vegas Prediction: Vegas to Win at 2.39

Main pick: Vegas has won three of its last four meetings with St. Louis and has lost just once in its last seven visits to the Blues. St. Louis has also been inconsistent, with recent losses to Minnesota and Nashville. The pick is Vegas to win at 2.39. Predicted score: 5-2.

Totals pick: Both teams have scored regularly, but neither has defended consistently. Vegas has scored 21 goals and allowed 16 over its last five games; St. Louis has scored 20 and allowed 16 in the same span. Take over 6.5 total goals at 2.40.