Friday’s NHL Stanley Cup Betting Preview and Odds
After sweeping top-seeded Chicago, Nashville takes a 3-1 series lead into Friday's Game 5 against the host St. Louis Blues.
Nashville Predators at St. Louis Blues (-115, 5)
Preds lead series 3-1
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (48-30-8-4, 42-38 O/U): The Nashville Predators were not expected to get past the first round of the postseason, but they are on the verge of advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. After sweeping top-seeded Chicago, Nashville takes a 3-1 series lead into Friday's Game 5 against the host St. Louis Blues. The Predators improved to 7-1 in the postseason after winning back-to-back games in Nashville to push St. Louis to the brink of elimination. There were questions about the drop-off in Rinne's play entering the playoffs, but he has posted a 7-1-0 mark, 1.33 goals-against average and a staggering .953 save percentage - the highest for a netminder with at least eight starts since 1982-83. "It's still a small stretch of games to me," said Rinne, who yielded three goals in each game at St. Louis. "But it's one of those things, you try not to look at those numbers." Nashville's defensemen continue to supply great production with eight goals and 14 assists in eight playoff games.
ABOUT THE BLUES (51-33-5-2, 36-41 O/U): Blues scored two goals in two games in Nashville and can't count on a return home to serve as a panacea - they are 6-8 in their last 14 playoff games at Scottrade Center, including 2-2 this postseason. Among the simplest ways for St. Louis to generate more offense is to improve its struggling power play, which has converted on 1 of 9 chances in the series and 2 of 24 in the postseason. “That’s something that we need to be better at for sure,” forward Jaden Schwartz told reporters. “We’ve just got to do a better job of making tape-to-tape passes, coming down hill a little bit more and not looking for the perfect pass, just getting them on net and find a way to get rebounds.” Vladimir Sobotka replaced Schwartz on the No. 1 line at Thursday's practice.
LINE HISTORY: The Blues opened as -115 favorites on home ice with their backs against the wall in Game 5. The total hit the board at 5.
INJURY REPORT:
Predators - RW C. Smith (Questionable, lower body), LW P. Aberg (Questionable, undisclosed), LW K. Fiala (Out For Season, leg).
Blues - C R. Fabbri (Out For Season, knee).
TRENDS:
* Predators are 7-1 in their last 8 overall.
* Blues are 5-12 in their last 17 Conference Semifinals games.
* Under is 5-1-5 in Predators last 11 vs. a team with a winning record.
* Under is 8-2-3 in Blues last 13 vs. a team with a winning record.
* Home team is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers (-140, 5.5)
Series tied 2-2
ABOUT THE OILERS (53-28-6-5, 37-46 O/U): Leon Draisaitl (team-high 10 points) has been pretty hard to solve on the heels of his third multi-point performance in the playoffs for the Oilers. Captain Connor McDavid followed his highlight-reel goal in Game 3 with another tally on Wednesday, giving the Hart Trophy finalist a point in five of his last six outings. The 20-year-old McDavid wasn't hanging his head after his team dropped both contests at Rogers Place and rather expressed an air of confidence on Thursday given Edmonton's 4-1 record during the playoffs in Southern California and 22-14-5 road mark in the regular season. "I think everyone feels pretty good, even though losing both (games) at home is not ideal," McDavid said. "We're going into a building that we feel pretty comfortable playing in, we've had success there before. We've been a pretty good road team this year, the guys seem to jell on the road."
ABOUT THE DUCKS (52-25-10-3, 32-38 O/U): After remaining perfect in the playoffs in Alberta, the Ducks vie for their third win in a row in the series when they host the Oilers in Game 5 on Friday. Captain Ryan Getzlaf has enjoyed the advantage regardless of venue, highlighting his four-point performance in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime victory with a pair of tallies to surpass Teemu Selanne (35) for first place on the all-time franchise playoff list. Jakob Silfverberg scored the second-fastest overtime goal in Anaheim's franchise playoff history when he tallied 45 seconds into overtime, extending his goal streak to four contests and playoff total to seven in eight games. The 26-year-old Swede has shown a knack for coming up big in the postseason as he's only two years removed from recording 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 16 games during Anaheim's run to the Western Conference final. Rickard Rakell, who led the team with a career-high 33 goals, has scored in back-to-back outings and totaled a plus-6 rating over those two contests.
LINE HISTORY: The Ducks opened as -140 moneyline favorites as they attempt to become the first home team in this series to notch a victory. The total opened at 5.5.
INJURY REPORT:
Oilers - D A. Ference (Out For Season, hip), RW T. Pitlick (Out For Season, knee).
Ducks - RW O. Kase (Questionable, lower body), RW P. Eaves (Doubtful, lower body), D K. Bieksa (Out Indefinitely, lower body), D S. Despres (Out Indefinitely, concussion), D C. Stoner (Out Indefinitely, abdominal).
TRENDS:
* Oilers are 2-8 in their last 10 Friday games.
* Ducks are 17-4 in their last 21 vs. a team with a winning record.
* Under is 12-2-2 in Oilers last 16 Friday games.
* Over is 4-1-2 in Ducks last 7 games following a win.
* Road team is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.
