NHL Monday best bets: Coyotes to keep singing the Blues

We shook off a slow start for our NHL best bets to finish last week in style, winning two recommended plays on both Thursday and Friday.

We'll look to pick up where we left off as we enter the second week of the 2021-22 NHL campaign.

It's difficult to emphasize just how bad the Coyotes are. They conceded eight goals in the season opener against a Blue Jackets team expected to finish near the bottom of the league standings.

Arizona followed that up with another loss to a team with no expectations in the Sabres. Though that game was decided in a shootout, it didn't take long to identify the better squad. That squad was Buffalo, as the Sabres outchanced the Coyotes 23-11 at five-on-five and controlled nearly 65% of the expected goals.

So, Arizona lost by six goals and was then second-best against a team that will be in the thick of the Shane Wright sweepstakes. Yikes.

The Coyotes are back at home tonight, which will surely provide a bit of a jolt, but it's unlikely to matter much against the Blues.

St. Louis has far more talent than Arizona at every position. With the offseason additions of Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich - as well as a healthy Vladimir Tarasenko back in the mix - the Blues are extremely deep up front.

Expect St. Louis to dominate possession and overwhelm the Coyotes on the shot clock. With big edges in finishing talent and in goal, we like the Blues to take two points in regulation.

Bet: Blues in regulation (-115)

There's not much value in picking winners on Monday's NHL slate. But there is value on Maple Leafs captain John Tavares to score his first goal of the season at +180 when Toronto battles the Rangers.

Tavares has been everywhere through three games. He's amassed 21 shot attempts and 14 scoring chances, nine of which were considered high-danger opportunities. All of that has amounted to a team-leading 2.11 expected goals - and zero actual goals.

He's a fantastic finisher, having scored on at least 10.8% of his shots every year since entering the NHL in 2009. Playing with William Nylander at even strength and net-front on a loaded power play, Tavares will certainly have no shortage of chances coming his way.

It's only a matter of time before he converts.

Bet: Tavares to score a goal (+180)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

Copyright (C) 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.