St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche Game 1 Betting Preview
- Playoffs Game 105/17 9:30 PM ETMLTotalScore21STL(3)1806.5-130 o222COL(1)-2206.5110 u3
The quest for the Stanley Cup continues at 9:30PM EST as the Blues and Avalanche drop the puck in Colorado. The game will be available to watch on TNT as well. The Avalanche enter the game coming off a four game sweep of the Predators while the Blues took down the favored Wild in a seven game thriller, ending with a 5-1 win on the road. The Avalanche open as -215 favorites while the Blues are +175 underdogs.
RECENT TRENDS:
The Avalanche come into the series averaging 5.76 goals a game, the most of any team in the playoffs. Their high flying offense has been led by Cale Maker who has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) through only four games. Darcy Kuemper is back in net for Colorado, but his substitute Pavel Francouz did not disappoint, helping complete the sweep and posting a s.902 save percentage.
On the other end of the puck, the Blues are looking for their second straight upset after shocking the Wild in seven games. The shock was led by Jordan Binnington who reclaimed his throne after winning three straight starts to close out the series. St. Louis scored eight power play goals in the first round, the most of any team so expect the Blues to try and force errors from Colorado to give them the man advantage.
BETTING ANGLES:
Over 6.5 goals (-130) looks like a safe bet with Colorado averaging six goals by themselves during the playoffs. If you feel risky, an alternate line of over 7.5 goals (+170) is an option with the Blues converting on the man-up and Colorado’s high flying offense.
Wanting to bet on a point getter, Colorado has two sure fire bets with Devon Towes (Over 0.5 points -130) and Cale Makar (Over 0.5 Points -240) as easy options. Towes averages almost 25 minutes of ice time and nabbed five points himself while Makar leads the team. Both skaters have been contributing and look as if they will continue to do so.
RECENT INJURIES:
Darcy Keumper is back for the Avalanche while the Blues have no new injuries to report.
WHY THE AVALANCHE CAN WIN:
At home and coming off a four game sweep, the Avalanche are white hot. Cale Makar has become the NHL's next superstar while his supporting cast of characters such as Devon Towes (five points in round one) and Nathan MacKinnon (five goals) continue to push the Avalanche success. They look unstoppable and play like it too, making it tough to bet against Colorado as they look to make it to the conference finals for the first time since 2002.
WHY ST. LOUIS CAN WIN:
If St. Louis wants to win, they need to get Colorado in the penalty box. If the Blues can turn the game into a special teams battle, they can capitalize on the area they have been best in on the man-up situation. Also needed is the continued top play of Jordan Binnington who closed out the Wild series with three straight wins when he started. If the Blues can make Colorado play a man down, they can surprise during game one and put Colorado on the defensive early.
