5 OF 6? 10* NHL 2ND RD. PL GAME OF THE YEAR!
- Handicapper
- Sean Murphy
- League
- NHL
- Competition
- Colorado Avalanche vs St. Louis Blues
- Time
- 05/23/2022 09:50 PM
- Bet Type
- Puck Line
- Pick
-
St. Louis Blues +1.5 (-165)
(Caesars)
- Outcome
- Loss
- Analysis
- Second Round Puck-Line Game of the Year. My selection is on St. Louis +1.5 goals over Colorado at 9:30 pm et on Monday.
We won with the Avalanche on Saturday as they skated to a 5-2 victory to grab a 2-1 series lead. I won't hesitate to go the other way on Monday, however, as the Blues look to answer back, just as they did in Game 2 of the series. Yes, St. Louis lost goaltender Jordan Binnington to an injury after a questionable play from Nazim Kadri in Game 3 on Saturday. Ville Husso is certainly a capable backup, however, noting that he actually began the playoffs as the starter before being replaced by Binnington following a couple of poor performances against the Wild. Prior to Game 2 of the opening round against Minnesota, Husso had gone a perfect 12-0 in his last 12 starts when factoring in the +1.5 puck-line, as we'll be using to our advantage here. Note that Colorado has allowed 4.1 goals per game, outscored by an average margin of 0.3 goals when coming off a road win in which it scored 4+ goals over the last two seasons (14-game sample size). Meanwhile, St. Louis checks in averaging 3.8 goals per contest and outscoring opponents by 0.5 goals on average when coming off two losses in its last three games this season (25-game sample size), as is the case here. This is obviously a critical game for the Blues as they're not likely to reel off three straight victories against a team as good as the Avalanche should they dig a 3-1 series hole. Note that St. Louis has responded well to adversity in these playoffs, notching victories on both previous occasions when trailing a series with those two wins coming by a combined 9-3 margin. Take St. Louis +1.5 goals (10*).
