The St. Louis Blues host the Minnesota Wild for the first game of the season on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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As the action begins for the beginning of the NHL season, here is who we project to bring home the win in Thursday's action.

Our computer projections model for this matchup predicts a final score of Blues 4, Wild 2.

The Blues (44-30-8 overall) had a 12-9-21 record last season in contests that went to overtime.
In the 34 games St. Louis played that were decided by one goal, it had an 18-9-7 record (good for 43 points).
The 15 times last season the Blues ended a game with only one goal, they went 1-11-3 (five points).
St. Louis scored exactly two goals in 19 games last season (6-11-2 record, 14 points).
The Blues scored at least three goals 53 times, and went 40-9-4 in those games (to record 84 points).
In the 30 games when St. Louis recorded a single power-play goal, it had a 14-13-3 record (31 points).
In the 36 games last season when it outshot its opponent, St. Louis was 22-13-1 (45 points).
The Blues were outshot by their opponent 46 times, and went 21-18-7 (49 points).

The Wild had a record of 45-30-7 last season and were 12-9-21 in overtime games.
In the 28 games Minnesota played that were decided by one goal, it picked up 38 points.
Last season the Wild scored only one goal in 21 games, and went 3-16-2 (eight points).
Minnesota picked up seven points (2-8-3 record) last season when scoring two goals .
The Wild scored at least three goals in 49 games, earning 88 points from those contests.
Minnesota scored a single power-play goal in 30 games last season and picked up 38 points.
When outshooting its opponent last season, Minnesota was 19-9-3 (41 points).
The Wild were outshot by their opponents in 54 games last season, going 26-22-6 to record 58 points.

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