NHL
Saturday, April 22
Saturday’s NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Preview and Odds
St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild (-185, 5)
Blues lead series 3-1
ABOUT THE BLUES (49-30-5-2 SU, 37-49 ATS, 34-39 O/U): St. Louis needs leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko to get things going after he managed two assists and no goals despite topping the team with 16 shots on net in the first four games. “There’s no question, we need our best players to play their best,” St. Louis coach Mike Yeo told reporters. “That’s not just in the playoffs, that’s anytime, it’s certainly magnified right now.” Tarasenko’s linemate Jaden Schwartz does have a pair of goals and an assist to share the team lead with Patrik Berglund and Alex Steen at three points each.
ABOUT THE WILD (50-27-7-2 SU, 46-40 ATS, 42-35 O/U): Power forward Charlie Coyle stepped up with goals in each of the last two games and center Martin Hanzal netted his first of the postseason in Wednesday’s victory. Zach Parise leads the team with three points while fellow wing Jason Zucker, who scored a career-best 22 times in the regular season, has yet to post a point despite pacing the Wild with 18 shots. Forward Erik Haula (upper-body) is expected to rejoin the lineup, perhaps in place of rookie Joel Eriksson Ek (five shots, zero points, three games), after missing Game 4.
LINE HISTORY: The Wild opened Game 5 as -167 home favorites and bettors think they'll extend the series another game, moving the number to as high as -185. It has since come back down to the current number of Wild -180. The total hit the board at the low 4.5, but it was quickly moved up to 5.
INJURY REPORT:
Blues - C Paul Stastny (Questionable Saturday, foot), C Robby Fabbri (Out for season, knee).
Wild - C Erik Haula (Questionable Saturday, undisclosed), G Darcy Kuemper (Questionable Saturday, illness), D Victor Bartley (Questionable, Saturday, tricep).
TRENDS:
* Blues are 4-1 in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Wild are 1-4 in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Under is 16-3-3 in Blues last 22 vs. Western Conference.
* Under is 5-0 in Wild last 5 vs. Western Conference.
* Under is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.
Montreal Canadiens at New York Rangers (-105, 5)
Rangers lead 3-2
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (49–28-8-2 SU, 44-43 ATS, 30-41 O/U): Captain Max Pacioretty scored a team-high 35 goals during the season but has been blanked in the series, including a stop of a third-period breakaway in Game 5. "In order to get through this, we'll need more from a lot of guys," coach Claude Julien said. "It's time for certain players to elevate their game and have that confidence and desire to be better. There's no doubt when you lose games and you're behind 3-2 you can't be satisfied as a team." Montreal's power play also is stuck in neutral, failing on all 14 chances.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (51-29-3-4 SU, 41-46 ATS, 41-39 O/U): After a lackluster effort in Game 3 in which New York managed a series-low 21, coach Alain Vigneault traded sandpaper for skill by inserting rookie Pavel Buchnevich on a line with Chris Kreider and Zibanejad, which combined for the game-winner Thursday. The coach also shifted Michael Graebner to a line alongside Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fast, who also tallied in Game 5. "There's speed, but you also have Jesper and Oscar who really compete hard for loose pucks and really battle hard," Vigneault noted. "It makes for a good mix."
LINE HISTORY: The Rangers opened Game 6 as slight -115 home favorites, but bettors think this first round series is going the distance and now it's the Habs who are the -115 chalk. The total opened at a low 4.5, but has moved to up to 5.
INJURY REPORT:
Canadiens - No injuries to report
Rangers - No injuries to report
TRENDS:
* Canadiens are 4-0 in their last 4 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Under is 15-3-3 in Canadiens last 21 road games.
* Under is 6-1-1 in Rangers last 8 vs. a team with a winning record.
* Canadiens are 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in New York.
Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks (-140, 5)
Oilers lead series 3-2
ABOUT THE OILERS (50-27-5-5 SU, 46-41 ATS, 34-44 O/U): David Desharnais, who was acquired from Montreal on Feb. 28, saw only 13 minutes, 19 seconds of ice time in Game 5 - the third-lowest amount among Edmonton forwards in Game 5 but his highest in the series thus far. Kris Russell entered Game 5 with a league-leading 22 blocked shots this postseason but failed to record one in the victory. The 29-year-old defenseman, who topped the NHL during the regular season with 213 blocks, was overtaken for first place in the playoffs as San Jose's Justin Braun recorded a game-high 10 to increase his postseason total to 26.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (48-31-7-1 SU, 37-50 ATS, 24-39 O/U): Mikkel Boedker let coach Peter DeBoer know he previously had made a bad decision with his performance in Game 5. The 27-year-old Boedker, who was a healthy scratch for Games 3 and 4, scored midway through the first period to forge a 1-1 tie and set up defenseman David Schlemko's goal 8:38 into the second as San Jose took a 3-1 lead. After a franchise record-setting performance in the previous contest (4-for-8), the Sharks received only one power-play opportunity in Game 5 and failed to cash in, dropping to eighth among the 16 playoff teams (5-for-23, 21.7 percent).
LINE HISTORY: The Sharks opened as -137 favorites with their season on the line and have been bet up to the current number of -140. Oddsmakers set the total for Game 6 at 5.
INJURY REPORT:
Oilers - D Andrew Ference (Out for season, hip), RW Tyler Pitlick (Out for season, knee)
Sharks - No injuries to report
TRENDS:
* Oilers are 10-4 in their last 14 games following a win.
* Sharks are 5-12 in their last 17 vs. Western Conference.
* Over is 5-1-1 in Oilers last 7 road games.
* Oilers are 6-2 in the last 8 meetings.
* Over is 8-3-1 in the last 12 meetings in San Jose.