The set-up: The 31-24-5 St. Louis Blues are on the road Sunday night to take on division rival the 38-18-5 Chicago Blackhawks. The Blues (67 points) are battling Nashville (69 points) for third place in the Central, while the Blackhawks (81) now trail division-leading Minnesota (84) by just three points.

St. Louis: The Blues are rested as Sunday's contest marks a return from their five-day break, however that hasn't been advantage league-wide, so far. The Blues' final 22 opponents have won only 44 percent of their games but that won't be the case here against the Blackhawks. However, the Blues are 2-1-1 against the Blackhawks this season after recording a 4-1 victory on Jan. 2 in the 2017 Winter Classic and have won four of their last five visits to Chicago. The Blues should also gain confidence from the fact that they have won eight of their last 11 road games.

Chicago: The Blues may not be invading Chicago at an opportune time though, as Chicago's 6-3 win over Arizona on Thursday gives the Blackhawks eight wins in their nine games, overall. Patrick Kane had a hat-trick against Arizona and captain Jonathan Toews scored three goals during a five-point performance against Minnesota two nights earlier.

The pick: The Blues may have won eight of their last 11 road games but they are still a sub-.500 road team on the season (13-14-1), while Chicago is 19-8-4 on home ice. Chicago has 81 points to St. Louis' 67, so these teams hare hardly equals. Chicago scored just once in its lone loss these last nine games, while scoring a total 39 in its eight wins (almost FIVE per game!). Make Chicago a 10* play.