St Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Game 5 Preview
- Playoffs Game 505/10 9:30 PM ETMLTotalScore43STL(3)1406.5-110 o544MIN(2)-1606.5-110 u2
Tied 2-2 and heading back to the land of 10,000 lakes, Game 5 between the Wild and Blues is set to have some fireworks. Each team has won a game on the visitors' ice, with Minnesota taking Game 3 in St. Louis and the Blues taking Game 1 in Minnesota. Puck drop is set for 9:30 PM ET and will be on ESPN. The Wild open as -145 favorites while the Blues come into the crucial road contest as +125 underdogs.
RECENT TRENDS:
Starting with the favorites, game four did not go the Wild’s way as they gave up two goals in 54 seconds en route to a 5-2 defeat in St. Louis. Minnesota found goals from Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy early on, but letting up five from the Blues would sink any team. Even on the man up, the Wild found themselves struggling, going 0-4 on power play opportunities.
As for the Blues, two skaters picked up a pair of goals as David Perron and Jordan Kyrou each found the back of the net twice.Veteran forward Ryan O'Reilly also found the back of the net too. 2019 Stanley Cup winning goalie Jordan Binnington picked up his first postseason win in ten tries. The power play was also lackluster for the Blues, but they did convert once on four tries.
BETTING TRENDS:
Look to take the under 6.5 goals (-110) in this contest. Games one and three produced under 6.5 goals, four and six respectively, while games two and four went over. Heading into game five and after a game of over 6.5 goals, the numbers have dipped the following day. While people say life is too short to bet the under, this time it's ok to go under.
Looking for a goalscorer to take, either Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprisov or St. Louis forward David Perron is easy to take with multiple goals throughout the series.
RECENT INJURIES:
Mats Zuccarello is still out for the Wild while Blues defenders Torey Krug and Marco Scandella are still out until at earliest game six.
WHY MINNESOTA CAN WIN:
Coming off a loss is never easy, but the Wild return home with a chance to take the 3-2 series advantage. Kirill Kaprisov has continued to stay hot and as a result, can be a strong goalscorer for the team. If Minnesota wants to win though, they will need to have Kevin Fiala, who had a last season emergence up front, break out of the ice and score again. The Blues are also lacking crucial defenders, leading to a chance to expose weak spots on the blue line.
WHY ST. LOUIS CAN WIN:
Jordan Binnington has found his form again with 28 saves on 30 shots while typical starter Ville Husso continues to shine in three starts, including a 4-0 game one shutout win. Goaltending has been the story of the Blues playoff run so far and if they wish to shock the Wild crowd once more, it comes down to the men between the pipes. With Husso looking like the starter, if he plays well, they can take the game.
