The St. Louis Blues are hot, coming into Florida tonight as winners of nine of their last 11 overall. The same can not be said for the Panthers, who's hopes of qualifying for the post-season have all but vanished. Florida is coming off back-to-back losses at Dallas and Minnesota, and the Panthers have lost 10 of their last 14 overall. All things considered, we get a reasonable price to back the Blues tonight.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Home Cookin' - Playing on home ice has not been an advantage for the Panthers, who have just as many wins on the road as they do at home. The Blues 15 road wins are three more than the Panthers have in Florida, and St. Louis has won six of it's last seven on the road.

2. Previous History - The Blues have won the last five meetings in this series, with two of those wins coming at Florida. They out-scored the Panthers 21-4 in those games, including a pair of shutouts.

3. X-Factor - Brian Elliott will be between the pipes for the Blues tonight, and he stopped all 31 shots he faced, picking up a shutout in his only start versus Florida last season.

Selection: This is a play on the St. Louis Blues (8*)