It has been exactly two decades since the Colorado Avalanche advanced as far as the Western Conference finals. All the Avalanche need to do to end that drought: Pick up one more victory against the St. Louis Blues in the next three games. If you buy into the numbers in the NHL playoff odds market, that victory is coming Wednesday night.
Colorado, which has been ousted in the conference semifinals each of the last three years, is a hefty home favorite to finish off the Blues in Game 5 and secure a spot in the Western Conference finals. It’s a place the Avalanche haven’t been since a four-year conference finals run from 1999-2002 that included winning the 2001 Stanley Cup.
Can the Blues duplicate their Game 2 effort in Colorado and stave off elimination? Or will the Avalanche, whose odds to win the Stanley Cup continue to shrink seemingly by the hour, march on?
Props.com breaks down NHL playoff odds and action for Wednesday’s Game 5 matchup from the Mile High City.
| Game 5 | Moneyline Odds | Puckline Odds | Total | Updated Series Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Blues | +220 | -105 (+1.5 goals) | 6.5 (Over -115) | +1500 |
| Colorado Avalanche | -260 | -115 (-1.5 goals) | 6.5 (Under -105) | -5000 |
Odds via WynnBet and updated as of 6:30 p.m. ET on May 25.
St. Louis Blues vs Colorado Avalanche (Game 5)
Puck Drop/TV: 8 p.m. ET/TNT
Best-of-7 series: Colorado leads, 3-1.
Game 4 recap: The Avalanche scored four times in a five-minute span early in the second period to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead on the way to a 6-3 victory. Colorado center Nazem Kadri recorded a hat trick and tacked on an assist for a game-high four points. The Avs cashed as consensus -155 road favorites, and the contest flew past the 6.5-goal total. Both games in St. Louis topped the total after the first two in Colorado stayed low.
Slap Shots
Blues: With No. 1 goaltender Jordan Binnington out for the rest of the series with a lower-body injury suffered in Game 3, Ville Husso manned the net Monday and allowed five goals on 36 shots. … The Blues are 5-7 in their last 12 contests (5-5 in the playoffs). Prior to that, they were on a 14-0-2 run. … St. Louis is 3-2 on the road in the playoffs, alternating wins and losses in each contest. The most recent: A 4-1 victory in Denver in Game 2. … The Blues have tallied 10 goals in their five postseason losses and 23 in their five wins. … Since Husso replaced Binnington in net, St. Louis has allowed 11 goals (two empty-netters). Binnington had surrendered just nine total goals in the five previous games, going 4-1. … The Blues have scored first in seven straight games and eight of 10 in the playoffs.
Avalanche: Colorado improved to 7-1 in the playoffs with the Game 4 victory. The team is 3-1 at home, though two of those wins were in overtime (Game 2 vs. Nashville; Game 1 vs. St. Louis). … For the season, the Avalanche are 35-6-4 in their building. … Colorado is averaging an NHL-best 4.29 goals per game in the playoffs. The Avs had spread the wealth, with four players — Cale Makar (11 points), Gabriel Landeskog (10), Mikko Rantanen (9) and Nathan MacKinnon (9) — scoring between nine and 11 points. …. The Avs are 9-3 in their last 12 against St. Louis, including 5-2 this season. They have outscored the Blues 27-22 in those seven meetings. … The winning team has scored at least four goals in 12 of the last 13 Avalanche-Blues meetings. The exception: Colorado’s 3-2 overtime win in Game 1.
From the Penalty Box
Colorado went 0-for-2 on the power play Monday, dropping to 1-for-8 in the series. St. Louis cashed in on two of its three man-advantage opportunities in Game 3 and is now 4-for-8 on the power play in the series. The Blues (35.3%) and Avs (33.3%) rank first and second, respectively, on the power play in the playoffs. St. Louis’ 12 playoff power-play goals lead the NHL.
The Blues have killed 27 of 32 power plays (84.4%, 7th). Colorado has killed 14 of 21 (66.7%, 14th).
Betting Nuggets
- St. Louis is 3-10 in its last 13 as a playoff underdog
- Colorado is 24-9 in its last 33 as a favorite in the playoffs
- Over is 15-6-1 in Colorado’s last 22 conference semifinal games
- Over is 24-11 in St. Louis’ last 35 overall
- Favorite is 39-15 in the last 54 series meetings
- Road team is 7-2 in the last nine Avs-Blues clashes
Game 5 Prediction: Avalanche 6, Blues 3
Blues vs Avalanche Odds and Action
UPDATED 6:30 P.M. ET WEDNESDAY: WynnBet opened Game 5 of this series at Avalanche -240/Blues +200 on its NHL playoff odds board. The moneyline has ticked up from there, going to Colorado -240, -245 and -250 before settling at the current price of -260 (St. Louis +220) about 90 minutes before puck drop. WynnBet customers are flocking to the big home chalk, as 86% of all moneyline wagers and 91% of all moneyline cash is on the Avs.
The puckline is seeing similar lopsided action on Colorado at 88% tickets/95% money. That has sent the puckline odds shifting from Avalanche (-1.5) +110/Blues (+1.5) -130 to Avalanche -115/Blues -105. The total opened and remains at 6.5, with a slight juice adjustment from -110 flat to Over -115. Ticket count and money are running 3/1 on the Over.
UPDATED 11:40 A.M. ET WEDNESDAY: BetMGM currently has Colorado as a -250 favorite on its NHL playoff odds board for Game 5. That’s up from an opener of -225. The Blues have gone from a +190 underdog to +200. The majority of the tickets (66%) and cash (79%) are on the Avalanche.
Colorado has dropped from +105 on the puckline (-1.5 goals) to +100, while St Louis (+1.5 goals) has shortened from -130 to -120. That said, nearly all of the puckline action is on the Avs at 91% wagers/92% money. The total hasn’t budged off 6.5 flat (-110 both ways) at BetMGM, even though two-thirds of the tickets (66%) and dollars (67%) are on the Over.
UPDATED 4 P.M. ET TUESDAY: Colorado hit DraftKings’ NHL playoff odds board as a -235 favorite for Game 5, then bolted up to -260 at 10:40 a.m. ET today. The Blues have gone from a +190 to a +210 underdog. Those moneyline prices are holding firm. Early action at DraftKings is predictably leaning heavily toward the home team, as 93% of all wagers so far is on Colorado, as is 87% of the money.
The puckline opened at Avalanche (-1.5) +115/Blues (+1.5) -135, but it has since dipped to Avalanche +100/Blues -120. Almost every puckline wager (90%) and penny (99%) is on Colorado.
For the fifth straight game in this series, the total is pegged at 6.5, with the juice moving from -110 both ways to the current price of Under -115. Ticket count leans to the Over at 60%, while money is 9/1 on the Over.
