St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche: Stanley Cup Playoffs, Game 1 Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/17/2022

Time: 9:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Ball Arena, Denver, CO

Where to watch: TNT

DraftKings: Avalanche -215, Blues +175

BetMGM: Avalanche -225, Blues +180

Caesars: Avalanche -222, Blues +180

With all of the Game Sevens that took place, there were a few days that I forgot all about the Colorado Avalanche. They made such quick work of the Nashville Predators in the first round that you almost forget they still had hockey to play.

And then you remember the injury to Darcy Kuemper and realize that he’s going to be back for this series and we’re getting a full-strength series with the St. Louis Blues to kick off the Western Conference portion of the second round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This is the most important series the Avalanche have played in recent memory. Yes, that even includes the second-round matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights from last season. This one is Colorado’s for the taking. There’s no Vegas standing in their way. There’s only a one-way ticket to the Western Conference Final if they can beat the Blues in the second round.

This will be Colorado’s first game in over a week since their sweep of the Predators, winning 5-3 in Game 4. If there was anything the Avalanche could’ve benefitted greatly more from, it was the fact Nashville didn’t have Jusse Saros in the series. Poor Connor Ingram had a chance, and he nearly pulled off the stunner in Game 2. That was the last chance, honestly.

"You enjoy it quickly," Colorado defenseman Cale Makar said. "This is just step one. You enjoy it for a little bit but then you move on. Obviously, we don't know who our opponent is yet, but it's going to be a familiar team.

"For us, it's already to that next step. We're where we want it to be, but we have to make sure that we can stay tight throughout this little break that we have."

Makar is already off to a ridiculous start with 10 points through four games, including that game-winner in Game 2 in overtime. That’s how you win the Norris (he’d have my vote), and the Conn Smythe if the Avalanche were to storm their way through to two rounds from now.

"I thought [we had] really good focus throughout the series," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "Pretty good consistency. This was our toughest game for sure. We made a few mistakes that they capitalized on, but again good resilience from our team to stick with it. … We were able to grind out a win on the road in a tough building, good team, all-around positive experience for our guys."

But if there’s a team that could give the Avalanche some trouble, it might be the Blues and the red-hot Jordan Binnington. The Blues made the switch to Binnington after Game 3, and now St. Louis is getting some 2019 hype in their mojo lately.

"It was a tough battle," Blues center Tyler Bozak said. "That's a very good team over there. It's kind of a shame we played in the first round of the playoffs. It was two of the top teams in the West and they deserve a lot of credit for the season they had. That was a really tough battle for us. Every game seemed like could have gone any way with a bounce here or there. We were lucky enough to come out on the winning end. That's a great test for us and should prepare us well for the next round."

Overall, I have no idea how this series is going to go. The Blues got the great goaltending over the Minnesota Wild, Jordan Kyrou turned into a dominant scorer late, and Vladimir Tarasenko has been revitalized. I think this goes seven games. 

For Game 1, I think the most fresh team is going to make a major impact in this first one. Binnington isn’t Ingram, and that’s where the biggest difference lies. That said, Kuemper back offsets that and I think the Avs get it done. Avalanche win 3-2

Blues are 18-13 against division teams this season.

Avalanche are 37-24 as the No. 1 seed in the playoffs since 1996.

Avalanche are 8-1 this season after scoring five goals or more in two straight games.

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

Jordan Binnington

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

Samuel Girard -- Josh Manson

Bowen Byram -- Erik Johnson

Darcy Kuemper