The biggest fallout from Game 4 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals: we now have ourselves a best-of-three series. All but two games separate the Bruins or Blues from tasting a championship. Here’s your all-encompassing betting guide to the remaining games, with picks, latest odds, and tips.
Hear that? It's "Gloria" ringing through all of St. Louis after the Blues tied the series with a 4-2 victory over the Bruins in Game 4. Let's have a look at the current odds to win the NHL championship.
With the series headed back to Boston for a pivotal Game 5, NHL Stanley Cup Odds have once again shifted. The opening line for the next matchup has the Bruins as the -142 favorites to go up 3-2. Though, St. Louis at +112 is practically an even bet.
Stay posted here for all Stanley Cup odds. In the meantime, here's the schedule for the remaining NHL playoff games:
Here's what you should know heading into the last two — or hopefully, three — championship games.
Who else wrote off St. Louis after an embarrassing Game 3 defeat? Hosting its first Stanley Cup game since 1970, the Blues conceded a whopping seven goals — and just like that, it appeared its Cinderella run was over. Then Game 4 happened and we're back to where we started. Fun how hockey works, huh?
At this point, who else gets the feeling that St. Louis is just a team of destiny? From being at the bottom of the whole league on January 3 to being on the wrong side of awful officiating, they've epitomized a never-say-die attitude through it all. Rookie goalie Jordan Binnington is the prime example of that.
In Game 3, he was benched after the hold-your-nose bad performance. But Binnington responded on Monday, stopping 21-of-23 shots. He's now 7-2 coming off a loss during this postseason run.
You'd think a trip back to Boston for Game 5 would be disadvantageous for the Blues. However, they're playing much better away from the home ice during the postseason. On the road, they're 8-3 and a meager 6-6 at their own Enterprise Center.
Alright, enough about the Blues. Despite the hiccup, the Bruins have still won nine of the past 11. Better yet, TD Arena is one of the most hostile arenas to play in. Only one team, Tampa, defended their home ice better than Boston during the regular season.
And despite giving up Game 4, history still bodes well for Boston. Here's an oddball stat for you: in Stanley Cup Finals history, teams that have dropped Game 4 to even the series have gone on to win the title 15 out of 25 times.
The over/under each of the past four games has been a consistent 5.5 goals. Three of those have eclipsed the mark. Games 1, 2, and 4 topped out at six, nine, and six goals apiece. The lone under was Game 2 with the bad beat at five goals.
We're of the belief that scoring will dip in the remaining games. With a four-game sample size, there's enough tape now for head coaches Bruce Cassidy and Craig Berube to make defensive adjustments to curb the scoring. Same goes for defenders that by now have a better grasp of how their opponents will attack, muscle memory if you will.
Plus, the scoring frenzy isn't on par with either team. In the two playoff series before this, the Bruins went under six of nine games. In that same timeframe, the Blues went over in just seven of 13 games. We expect scoring to be more at a premium from here on out.
Betting advice: lean with the under
Before the series began, odds to win the Stanley Cup overwhelmingly favored the Bruins. They started as -350 to win it all, while the Blues — looking for its first-ever Holy Grail triumph — were +250 underdogs. Now? They're virtually a toss-up.
Earlier we called the Blues a team of destiny, and by golly, we're sticking with it. This team just doesn't lose consecutive games. Since the turn of the calendar year, St. Louis has had losing skids just twice (streaks of two and three). That's not to say they can't conceivably lose Game 5, win Game 6, then drop the decisive Game 7.
But its strong road record suggests they can steal one at TD Arena. We believe they'll do just that, especially with Ryan O'Reilly finally out of his slump. O'Reilly scored twice on Monday, one 42 seconds in and the other go-ahead goal in the third period, and finally looked like his normal self — the player that lead the Blues in scoring during the regular season. That should be a scary sight for the Bruins.
In recent memory, we've seen one lovable loser after another finally end their miseries — the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Cavaliers come to mind. That list will grow by one after St. Louis wins its first-ever Stanley Cup. After 42 long years, this scrappy bunch will sip from hockey's sacred cup, finally.
Betting advice: Bet St. Louis Blues
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