The St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche play Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round series Monday. Puck drop is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET at Ball Arena. Below, we analyze the Blues-Avalanche odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
The Blues head into their series as decisive underdogs, and to make matters worse they’ll be without one of their top scorers.
RW David Perron was placed on the COVID-19 protocol list on Saturday. He had 19 goals and 58 points in 56 regular-season games. LW Nathan Walker is also on the list with him. D Vince Dunn (upper body) and RW Vladimir Tarasenko (lower body) are also question marks.
The Avalanche edged the Blue 5-3 in the eight-game regular-season series, but St. Louis won the two most recent meetings on home ice April 24 and 26. The Avs won three of the four meetings in Denver.
Blues at Avalanche: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:25 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Blues +220 (bet $100 to win $220) | Avalanche -275 (bet $275 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Blues +1.5 (-120) | Avalanche -1.5 (+100)
- Over/Under: 5.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Blues at Avalanche: Projected starting goalies
Jordan Binnington (18-14-8, 2.65 GAA, .910 SV%) vs. Philipp Grubauer (30-9-1, 1.95 GAA, .922 SV%, 7 SO)
Binnington’s first start of the season was Jan. 13 in the opener in Colorado, and he stopped 26 of 27 shots to help the Blues pick up a 4-1 win. The good times didn’t last, as he was hammered for 4 goals on 24 shots in his next start against the Avs. Binnington went 3-4-0 with a 2.89 GAA and .909 SV% in seven games against the Avalanche.
Grubauer was tied for the NHL lead with 7 shutouts. One of those shutouts was against St. Louis, and he was 2-1-0 with a 1.68 GAA and .938 SV% in three games against the Blues.
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Blues at Avalanche: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Avalanche 4, Blues 1
Money line (ML)
The Avalanche (-275) will cost you nearly three times your potential return, and that’s just too risky even with the odds stacked heavily against the Blues.
AVOID.
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Against the spread (ATS)
The AVALANCHE -1.5 (+100) are a much better value on the puck line at even money. Colorado finished the regular season strong, posting five straight victories to surge to the top of the standings while securing the Presidents’ Trophy.
That has been a kiss of death over the years for some teams, but this Colorado side looks tough.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 5.5 (-105) has cashed in four of the past five head-to-head meetings in Denver, but that’s not the only reason to back the Under.
The Blues not having Perron will disrupt their offensive flow, and Tarasenko is no certainty to play, either. St. Louis will have a problem lighting the lamp, which is good for Under bettors.
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