Minnesota Wild Vs. St. Louis Blues (5/12/22) Betting Odds, Prediction, Line Combination, Starting Goalies

By Scott Steinberg | May 11, 2022, 7:19pm

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The St. Louis Blues, Vladimir Tarasenko scored a natural hat trick in the third period as the Blues won 5-2 on the road over the Minnesota Wild to take a 3-2 series lead in the best of seven first-round matchup. In his second straight start, Jordan Binnington made 30 saves in the St. Louis victory.

Minnesota is +1300 to win the Western Conference and +3000 to hoist the 2021-22 Stanley Cup; the furthest they’ve gone in the playoffs in franchise history is the Western Conference Finals in 2002-03. St. Louis is +800 to win the Western Conference in 2021-22 and +1800 to win the Stanley Cup this season; the Blues won their only Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2018-19.

Minnesota Wild Vs. St. Louis Betting Odds

Minnesota is +235 to win the first round series over St. Louis. The Wild are 13-28 in their last 41 playoff games as an underdog. Under is 7-3 in Minnesota’s last 10 playoff games as an underdog. The Wild are 4-12 in their last 16 Conference Quarterfinals games. The underdog is 4-1 in the last five meetings between Minnesota and St. Louis. The Blues are -300 to defeat the Wild in the opening round of the playoffs. St. Louis is 2-7 in their last nine playoff games as a favorite. Over is 5-2 in the Blues last seven Conference Quarterfinals games. St. Louis is 11-3 in their last 14 games following a win.

Minnesota Wild Analysis

Kirill Kaprizov finished fourth in the NHL in scoring with 108 points (47 goals and 61 assists). He became the first player in Wild history to score 100 points in a season. Minnesota’s number 97 had 31 points on the power play (14 goals and 17 assists) and five game winning goals this season. The 2020-21 Calder Trophy winner scored two goals on Tuesday night and has seven goals in the first round vs. St. Louis, which leads the NHL. Kaprizov is +4000 to win the 2021-22 Conn Smythe Trophy. Kevin Fiala was the Wild’s second leading scorer with a career-high 85 points (33 goals and 52 assists). In 2021-22 he was a +23 with 17 points on the power play (five goals and 12 assists). In the Game Five loss to the Blues, Fiala registered two assists. Mats Zuccarello finished the regular season third on the Wild in scoring with 79 points (24 goals and 55 assists). The 12-year veteran had 28 points on the power play (seven goals and 21 assists). He has four points through the first five games of the 2021-22 playoffs. Ryan Hartman was second on the team in goals this season with 34, overall, he had 65 points. He was tied for the team lead in game winning goals with seven and third on the team in plus/minus at +31 in 2021-22. Hartman has five assists in the first round series against the Blues.

Jared Spurgeon, the Minnesota captain played in 65 games and had 40 points (10 goals and 30 assists) this year. The 12-year veteran was second on the team in plus/minus at +32 and averaged 21:09 of ice time per game. He has three assists in the first-round matchup vs. St. Louis. Jonas Brodin was a +9 with 30 points in 73 games in 2021-22. He led the club in blocked shots with 126 while delivering 42 hits and averaging 23:26 of ice time per game. Brodin has a goal and two assists through five games of the playoffs this season.

Marc-Andre Fleury started 11 games for the Wild in the regular season going 9-2-0 with a .910 save percentage and a GAA of 2.74 after a deadline deal with Chicago. On Tuesday night, he made 27 saves in the loss to the Blues. In the first round series, the three-time Stanley Cup winner has a GAA of 3.04 and a .906 save percentage.

St. Louis Blues Analysis

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. Tarasenko’s hat trick on Tuesday, was the second hat trick by a Blues in the series (David Perron in Game One). The 30-year-old is +3500 to the Conn Smythe Trophy this season. Robert Thomas was second on the Blues in scoring this season with 77 points (20 goals and 57 assists). The 22-year-old center was +17 and scored six game winning goals this year. Thomas has three assists through the first five games of the postseason. Pavel Buchnevich, acquired by St. Louis from the New York Rangers this past off-season had 76 points this season (30 goals and 46 assists). Buchnevich tallied two assists in the Game Five victory the Wild. Center 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 scored three goals in the opening round of the postseason. Captain Ryan O’Reilly is tied for the team lead with David Perron in points with seven; Perron leads the club with five goals in the playoffs. O’Reilly the 2018-19 Conn Smythe Trophy winner is +3500 to win the 2021-22 Conn Smythe Trophy.

Justin Faulk was the leading scorer for all Blues defensemen with 47 points (16 goals and 31 assists) in 2021-22. Additionally, he led St. Louis in plus/minus at +41 while averaging 23:12 of ice time per game. He blocked 101 shots and delivered 149 hits during the regular season. Faulk had two assists in the victory over Minnesota on Tuesday. Torey Krug 43 points on the season (nine goals and 34 assists) while logging 20:33 of ice time per game. Krug was a +23 while blocking 70 shots and delivering 53 hits in 2021-22. In 82 career playoff games with Boston and St. Louis he’s recorded 57 points (11 goals and 46 assists).

2018-19 Stanley Cup champion, Jordan Binnington has won both of his starts in the 2021-22 playoffs. He’s made 58 saves on 62 shots (.935 save percentage) and has a 2.00 GAA against the Wild in the first round.

Minnesota Wild Vs. St. Louis Blues Picks & Prediction

During the regular season, St. Louis scored 3.8 goals per game, ranking them third in the NHL. The Blues have scored 14 goals in their three victories in the first round. On the defensive side, St. Louis allowed 2.9 goals per game which was 11^th in the league. The Wild scored 3.7 goals per game during the regular season, fifth in the NHL. In their two wins, Minnesota has scored 11 goals, in their three losses they’ve scored four goals. Defensively the Wild allowed three goals per game, 16^th overall.

The Wild are an under the radar pick to win the Stanley Cup and I like them going on the road and defeating the Blues, 4-2, forcing the series to a seventh game as the teams combine for under 6.5 goals. I like Marc Andre-Fleury to make the “big save” in this contest and Kirill Kaprizov to show that he’s the next superstar in the NHL.

Minnesota Wild 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.