by Chuck Sommers
Monday, May 23, 2022Western Conference Second Round, Game 4 -- Avalanche lead 2-1
Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO
Where to watch: TNT
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Avalanche -160, Blues +140
BetMGM: Avalanche -160, Blues +135
Caesars: Avalance -161, Blues +140
Al McMordie has reeled off a strong 20-8-0 run over the last month in the NHL. Man, what a start to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Did you enjoy all those Game Sevens? Because we sure did. You think all that fun in Round 1 was great? How about these next four matchups? It’s going to be a wild ride. You need to be tuned in here to find out all the expert analysis. Catch Al’s plays available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.
Blues - Avalanche preview and analysis
The dominant run by Jordan Binnington is over, at least with this series. The Colorado Avalanche, inadvertently or not, took out their Stanley Cup-winning goalie and will now have to go back to Ville Husso for Game 4 of their second-round series, which now the Avs lead 2-1 after bouncing back in Game 3.
Binnington, who entered the playoffs in Game 3 of the first round, pretty much carried the Blues into the second round after eliminating the Minnesota Wild. He nearly stole Game 1 all by himself, and then did more than enough in Game 2.
He went out almost seven minutes into Game 3 after Nazem Kadri barreled into him, causing a lower-body injury that has officially ruled Binnington out for the rest of the series. Ville Husso, who was the starter for more of the year but struggled heavily in the first round, will now be called upon to try and level this series.
"It's always tough," Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly said. "Obviously, 'Binner's' the heart and soul, playing unbelievable, but I think it kind of took the momentum away and took us a little too long to kind of get it back going again. Things like that happened. We're a deep team, and we could have done a better job of getting the momentum back and adjusting."
Once Binnington went out, the Avalanche picked on Husso like he was fresh meat. They scored four times in the final 40 minutes, putting four goals on 23 shots. It was bad, it was ugly, and considering he needs to play better than how he's looked in his playoff starts, I'm not feeling confident in the Blues anymore.
Nazem Kadri, the most hated man in St. Louis right now, scored a goal, and Artturi Lehkonen scored twice because of course he did.
"I just see a loose puck, really," Kadri said. "I mean, I was kind of just sitting behind him and just tried to poke it with my stick, and I think their defenseman kind of collided with me and pushed me into him. So you know, had that not been the case, I don't think I would have hit him at all. It's a loose puck. I'm just trying to bang it in."
The bad news for Colorado: Sam Girard is out for the rest of the postseason due to a broken sternum. So if you're thinking eye-for-an-eye approach to this, there you go. Bowen Byram likely moves up to the second pair and clearing the way for either Jack Johnson or Kurtis MacDermid.
"Looking back on it, I mean, it's a heavy collusion," Bednar said. "He just catches him in a bad spot, but I thought it was legal check, to be honest with you. He kind of goes in on his head side, but he got a lot of body there. [Girard] was turned the wrong way, and he went in awkward, and it was a heavy check. Unfortunate, but to be honest, I think it was a legal check."
That was ultimately the reason why the Blues lost. If Binnington stayed in net, I was definitely on the mindset that the Blues would steal one of these two. Now, we're going into Game 4 and I can't help but think the Avs will run away with this.
"I liked our game," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "I thought we checked well. We did a lot of good things right. A lot of good things.
"The effort was there. I thought we played a solid game. Yeah, there were some stretches there where we didn't maybe get pucks in deep enough for some stretches in the second and third period, but that's hockey. I thought we worked them pretty good overall, but obviously we didn't get enough goals. So we've got to do a better job."
Binnington, who entered the playoffs in Game 3 of the first round, pretty much carried the Blues into the second round after eliminating the Minnesota Wild. He nearly stole Game 1 all by himself, and then did more than enough in Game 2.
He went out almost seven minutes into Game 3 after Nazem Kadri barreled into him, causing a lower-body injury that has officially ruled Binnington out for the rest of the series. Ville Husso, who was the starter for more of the year but struggled heavily in the first round, will now be called upon to try and level this series.
"It's always tough," Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly said. "Obviously, 'Binner's' the heart and soul, playing unbelievable, but I think it kind of took the momentum away and took us a little too long to kind of get it back going again. Things like that happened. We're a deep team, and we could have done a better job of getting the momentum back and adjusting."
Once Binnington went out, the Avalanche picked on Husso like he was fresh meat. They scored four times in the final 40 minutes, putting four goals on 23 shots. It was bad, it was ugly, and considering he needs to play better than how he's looked in his playoff starts, I'm not feeling confident in the Blues anymore.
Nazem Kadri, the most hated man in St. Louis right now, scored a goal, and Artturi Lehkonen scored twice because of course he did.
"I just see a loose puck, really," Kadri said. "I mean, I was kind of just sitting behind him and just tried to poke it with my stick, and I think their defenseman kind of collided with me and pushed me into him. So you know, had that not been the case, I don't think I would have hit him at all. It's a loose puck. I'm just trying to bang it in."
The bad news for Colorado: Sam Girard is out for the rest of the postseason due to a broken sternum. So if you're thinking eye-for-an-eye approach to this, there you go. Bowen Byram likely moves up to the second pair and clearing the way for either Jack Johnson or Kurtis MacDermid.
"Looking back on it, I mean, it's a heavy collusion," Bednar said. "He just catches him in a bad spot, but I thought it was legal check, to be honest with you. He kind of goes in on his head side, but he got a lot of body there. [Girard] was turned the wrong way, and he went in awkward, and it was a heavy check. Unfortunate, but to be honest, I think it was a legal check."
That was ultimately the reason why the Blues lost. If Binnington stayed in net, I was definitely on the mindset that the Blues would steal one of these two. Now, we're going into Game 4 and I can't help but think the Avs will run away with this.
"I liked our game," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "I thought we checked well. We did a lot of good things right. A lot of good things.
"The effort was there. I thought we played a solid game. Yeah, there were some stretches there where we didn't maybe get pucks in deep enough for some stretches in the second and third period, but that's hockey. I thought we worked them pretty good overall, but obviously we didn't get enough goals. So we've got to do a better job."
Prediction
Husso is going to need to be at his best in the first 20 minutes to have a chance. I don't see that happening the way he's been picked on this playoff and how last game went. Rout in St. Louis. Avalanche win 5-2
Betting trends
Avalanche are 20-14 since 1996 in Game 4.
Avalanche are 21-5 off a road win this season.
Blues are 10-6 off a home loss this season.
Avalanche are 21-5 off a road win this season.
Blues are 10-6 off a home loss this season.
Projected lines
Avalanche:
Valeri Nichushkin -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nazem Kadri -- Artturi Lehkonen
Andre Burakovsky -- J.T. Compher -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Darren Helm -- Nico Sturm - Logan O'Connor
Devon Toews -- Cale Makar
Bowen Byram -- Josh Manson
Jack Johnson -- Erik Johnson
Darcy Kuemper
Blues:
Blues:
Brayden Schenn -- Ryan O'Reilly -- David Perron
Pavel Buchnevich -- Robert Thomas -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Brandon Saad -- Ivan Barbashev -- Jordan Kyrou
Alexei Toropchenko -- Tyler Bozak
Nick Leddy -- Colton Parayko
Calle Rosen -- Justin Faulk
Niko Mikkola -- Robert Bortuzzo
Scott Perunovich
Ville Husso
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this St. Louis Blues - Colorado Avalanche prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NHL projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
