The Colorado Avalanche hit the ice Wednesday night as a massive favorite in the NHL playoff odds market to eliminate the St. Louis Blues and clinch their first trip to the Western Conference in two decades. And with less than a minute to play in Game 5, Colorado had that conference finals berth in its grasp.
Now? The Avs are back in St. Louis for Game 6 after finishing on the wrong end of arguably the most stunning comeback of the 2022 postseason.
Despite blowing a 3-0 early lead and a 4-3 late lead in Game 5, Colorado once again is a heavy favorite to put away St. Louis on Friday. Can the Avs finish the job this time around? Or will the pesky Blues pull off another upset and send the series back to Denver for a decisive Game 7?
Props.com breaks down NHL playoff odds and action for Friday’s Game 6 matchup in St. Louis.
| Matchup | Moneyline Odds | Puckline Odds | Total | Series Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Avalanche | -165 | +140 (-1.5 goals) | 6.5 (Over -115) | -800 |
| St. Louis Blues | +145 | -160 (+1.5 goals) | 6.5 (Under -105) | +550 |
Odds via DraftKings and updated as of 6:10 p.m. ET on May 27.
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St. Louis Blues vs Colorado Avalanche (Game 6)
Puck Drop/TV: 8 p.m. ET/TNT
Best-of-7 series: Colorado leads, 3-2.
Game 5 recap: Facing elimination, the Blues rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie Game 5. After Colorado regained the lead with less than three minutes to play, St. Louis tied it again with 56 seconds remaining (and their own net empty). Then less than four minutes into overtime, Blues center Tyler Bozak put the puck in the net for a season-saving 5-4 victory.
St. Louis cashed as a consensus +215 underdog in the NHL playoff odds market, and the game flew past the 6.5-goal total. The last three games in the series have gone Over after the first two stayed Under. Also, the road team has won the last four games.
Slap Shots
Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon had a hat trick in Game 5. He scored the team’s first two goals and the last one that gave Colorado a 4-3 lead. … While the Avs are just 3-2 at home in the postseason (including three overtime games), they’re 4-0 on the road, outscoring opponents 23-11. … Colorado continues to lead the NHL in playoff scoring at 4.44 goals per game, tallying at least four goals in six of nine contests. … Four players — MacKinnon (13), Cale Makar (13 points), Gabriel Landeskog (11) and Miko Rantanen (11) — have tallied double-digit points. … Colorado is still 9-4 in its last 13 against the Blues, including five straight wins at St. Louis. The Avs lead this year’s season series 5-3, but the goal differential is close (31-27). … The winning team has scored at least four goals in 13 of the last 14 Avalanche-Blues meetings. The exception: Colorado’s 3-2 overtime home win in Game 1.
Blues: Playing in place of No. 1 goaltender Jordan Binnington (lower-body injury), Ville Husso had 30 saves on 34 shots in Game 5. Binnington has been ruled out for the rest of the playoffs after getting hurt early in Game 3. … St. Louis is 6-5 in the postseason, but just 2-3 at home. Both home wins were blowouts (5-2 and 5-1 vs. Minnesota), while the three losses were by the combined score of 16-6. … The Blues have tallied a total of 10 goals in their five postseason losses and 28 in its six wins. … Since Husso replaced Binnington in net, St. Louis has allowed 15 goals (two empty-netters). Binnington had surrendered just nine total goals in the five previous games, going 4-1. … The Blues’ seven-game streak of scoring first ended Wednesday. Still, they have tallied the initial goal in eight of 11 playoff contests.
From the Penalty Box
Colorado went 1-for-3 on the power play Wednesday but is still just 2-for-11 in the series. St. Louis failed to score on all three of its man-advantage opportunities in Game 5 and is now 4-for-11 on the power play in the series. The Avs (33.3%) and Blues (32.4%) continue to rank first and second, respectively, on the power play in the postseason. Also, St. Louis’ 12 playoff power-play goals continue to lead the NHL.
The Blues have killed 29 of 35 power plays (82.9%). Colorado has killed 17 of 24 (70.8%, 14th).
Betting Nuggets
- Colorado is 10-2 in its last 12 after allowing 5+ goals in the previous game
- St. Louis is 18-8 in its last 26 overall
- St. Louis is 4-10 in its last 14 as a playoff underdog
- Over for Colorado is on runs of 5-2 overall, 4-0 on the road and 9-3 in the conference finals
- Over for St. Louis is on runs of 25-11 overall, 7-3 overall and 34-13-3 as an underdog
- Favorite is 39-16 in the last 55 series meetings
- Road team is 8-2 in the last 10 Avs-Blues clashes
- Colorado is 5-0 in its last five at St. Louis
- Over is 9-2 in the last 11 series meetings (5-0 in St. Louis)
Game 6 Prediction: Avalanche 5, Blues 2
Blues vs Avlanche Odds and Action
UPDATED 5:45 P.M. ET FRIDAY: Some 2 1/2 hours before puck drop, the NHL playoff odds for Avalanche vs Blues have shortened again. Colorado — once as high as -190 — is now down from -175 to -165, with St. Louis adjusting from +150 to +145. Despite the moneyline moving in the Blues’ direction, the majority of the action is on the Avs at 66% wagers/60% money.
The ever-evolving puckline, which was at Avalanche (-1.5) +150/Blues (+1.5) -170 about five hours ago, is now sitting at Avalanche +140/Blues -160. Still, Colorado is taking 65% of the tickets at DraftKings, while nearly every puckline dollar (92%) is on the visitors at -1.5 goals.
The total is stuck to 6.5, with the juice shaded to the Over and bouncing around all day. It’s currently back to the opener of 6.5/Over -115. Ticket count is 3/1 to the Over, while 86% of the cash is on the Over.
UPDATED 12:35 P.M. ET FRIDAY: Colorado has fallen back to a -175 favorite for Game 5 after stretching out as far as -190 on Thursday evening. The Blues have adjusted slightly from a +155 underdog to +150. Ticket count (67%) and money (60%) continues to favor the Avalanche.
The puckline, which dipped as low as Avalanche (-1.5) +135/Blues (+1.5) -155 on Thursday evening, has stretched all the way out to Avalanche +150/Blues -170. Contrary to that move in St. Louis’ favor, two-thirds of the bets (67%) are on Colorado, and puckline money is running 9/1 in the Avs’ favor.
The total is holding steady at the opener of 6.5/Over -115 on betting splits of 67% wagers/83% dollars on the Over.
UPDATED 6 P.M. ET THURSDAY: Colorado hit DraftKings’ NHL playoff odds board as a -170 road favorite for Game 6, with St. Louis at +150. But the moneyline has been steadily rising ever since and is now sitting at Avalanche -190/Blues +155. Early betting action is in lockstep with that line move, as 58% of the tickets and 72% of the dollars at DraftKings are on Colorado.
The puckline opened at Avalanche (-1.5) +140/Blues (+1.5) -165, but it has since dipped to Avalanche +135/Blues -155. The bulk of the early puckline wagers (71%) and nearly all of the cash (97%) are on the Avalanche -1.5 goals. For the sixth straight game in this series, the total is pegged at 6.5. Game 6 opened with slight juice to the Over at -115, and that price is unchanged on early two-way action of 67% tickets on the Under/51% money on the Over.
