Colorado Avalanche Vs. St. Louis Blues (5/27/22) Betting Odds, Prediction, Line Combination, Starting Goalies

By Scott Steinberg | May 26, 2022, 2:07pm

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On the road the St. Louis Blues staved off elimination in the second round by beating the Colorado Avalanche, 5-4 on Tyler Bozak’s goal at 3:38 into overtime. Robert Thomas scored two goals for the Blues in the victory: including the tying goal late in the third period. The series is now 3-2 in favor of Colorado as the teams play Friday in St. Louis.

St. Louis is +3000 to win the Stanley Cup this season; the Blues won their only Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2018-19. The Avalanche had the best record in the Western Conference this season at 56-19-7 with 119 points. Colorado is the favorite to win the 2021-22 Stanley Cup at +135; the Avalanche have won two titles since moving from Quebec to Colorado in 1995.

Colorado Avalanche Vs. St. Louis Blues Betting Odds

Colorado is -800 to advance the to advance to their first conference finals since 2001-02. The Avalanche are 7-2 in their last nine playoff games as a favorite. Colorado is 9-19 in their last 28 Conference Semifinals games. Over is 9-3 in the Avalanche’s last 12 Conference Semifinals games. Over is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings between Colorado and St. Louis. The road team has won the last four games between the Avalanche and Blues. St. Louis is +550 to upset the Colorado Avalanche and advance to the conference finals. The Blues are 4-10 in their last 14 playoff games as an underdog. Over is 9-3 in St. Louis’ last 12 playoff games as an underdog. The Blues are 2-5 in their last seven home games.

Colorado Avalanche Analysis

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 25 saves in Colorado’s loss on Wednesday night. In eight postseason games in 2021-22, he has a save percentage of .904 with a 2.50 GAA. The Avalanche goalie is +2200 to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Cale Makar is tied for first in the NHL in postseason points by a defenseman with 13 points (three goals and 10 assists). Additionally, he’s a +6 while averaging 26:22 of ice time in the playoffs. He’s +550 to win the 2021-22 Conn Smythe Trophy. Devon Toews is a +5 while averaging 25:42 of ice time per game in the postseason. He has four goals in the playoffs (which is tied for the league lead by defensemen), two behind Rob Blake’s six goals in 2001 and 2002 for the most by an Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques defenseman in a single postseason, per NHL.com.

Nathan MacKinnon is the favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy at +330, he had a hat trick in the loss on Wednesday to the Blues. MacKinnon leads Colorado in goals (eight) and tied for the team lead in postseason points with 13. Per NHL.com, he has 36 career playoff goals, moving past Michel Goulet (34) and Milan Hejduk (34) for third in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history. Gabriel Landeskog returned from knee surgery in round one vs. the Predators and has tallied 11 points (six goals and five assists) in nine postseason games in 2021-22. The Avalanche captain is currently +2000 to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. Nazem Kadri has scored 10 points (five goals and five assists) in nine playoff contests for the Avalanche this year. Mikko Rantanen led Colorado in scoring this season with 92 points (36 goals and 56 assists) while being an impressive +35. Through nine playoff games in 2021-22, he has 11 points (one goals and 10 assists). Rantanen is +2500 to win the Conn Smythe Award.

St. Louis Blues Analysis

Ville Husso, now the starter with Jordan Binnington out indefinitely due to a knee injury, made 30 saves in the Game Five overtime victory over the Avalanche. In six playoff games (five starts) in 2021-22, Husso has an .884 save percentage (167 saves on 189 shot attempts) and a 3.78 GAA.

Justin Faulk was the leading scorer for all Blues defensemen with 47 points (16 goals and 31 assists) in the regular season. Additionally, he led St. Louis in plus/minus at +41 while averaging 23:12 of ice time per game. Faulk has seven assists through 11 postseason games while averaging 25:39 of ice time. Nick Leddy acquired by the Blues in March had three assists in the critical victory over the Avalanche on Wednesday. He has 38 points in 129 career playoff contests.

David Perron leads the club in goals (nine) and points (13) in this season’s playoffs. He’s scored two game winning goals and averaging 20:07 of ice time through the postseason. Ryan O’Reilly, the 2018-19 Conn Smythe Trophy winner is second on the team in goals (seven) and points (12) this postseason. He’s a +3 while skating 21:32 per contest in the 2021-22 playoffs. Pavel Buchnevich had two assists in the Blues win on Wednesday night. In 11 postseason games in 2021-22, he’s scored 11 points (one goal and 10 assists). Vladimir Tarasenko led the Blues in scoring this season with 82 points (34 goals and 48 assists) in 75 games. The dangerous winger was a +9 with 22 points on the power play and scored a team leading nine game winning goals in 2021-22. In St. Louis’ victory in Game Five, Tarasenko had a goal and an assist. Through 11 postseason games this year, he has nine points (six goals and three assists). Jordan Kyrou was impressive this season scoring 75 points in 74 games. The 23-year-old center had four game winning goals and 19 points on the power play. Kyrou has eight points in the 11 postseason contests this season.

Colorado Avalanche Vs. St. Louis Blues Picks & Prediction

Last year Colorado defeated St. Louis in a four-game sweep; this season the Blues are looking to push the series to a seventh game. Per NHL.com, teams that take a 3-1 lead (as Colorado has done over St. Louis in this series) are 296-31 (.905) winning a best-of-seven NHL playoff series.

Through their first nine playoff games, the Avalanche have scored 40 goals: 4.4 goals per game. Colorado is 4-0 in their last four road games. Over is 5-2 in the Avalanche’s last seven playoff games as a favorite. During the regular season, St. Louis scored 3.8 goals per game, ranking them third in the NHL. Through 11 playoff games, the Blues have scored 38 goals: 3.45 goals per game. St. Louis is 2-5 in their last seven games as a home underdog. Over is 7-1 in the Blues last eight when their opponent allows five goals or more in their previous game.

I’m going with the Avalanche to win Game Six of the series after failing to defeat the Blues at home on Wednesday night. St. Louis will come out on Friday with a lot of energy with their crowd in a frenzy. Colorado wins 6-4 in this game, covering the 1.5 goal spread as the teams combine for over 6.5 goals.

Colorado Avalanche Vs. St. Louis Blues Starting Goalies & Line Combination

Scott Steinberg

Scott has been a sports fan since he received a New York Mets jacket as a toddler. He’s been playing fantasy baseball and football for over 20 years, dating back to Frank Thomas being one of his first fantasy baseball picks. As a professional, he has covered the NFL, MLB, NCAAF, and NCAAB and is looked to as the go-to guy for fantasy sports amongst family, friends, and co-workers.