The Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues continue their Western Conference quarterfinals for Game 4 on Monday at 10:30 p.m. ET at Rogers Place in Edmonton. We analyze the Blues-Canucks NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Blues vs. Canucks: Projected starting goalies
Jordan Binnington vs. Jacob Markstrom
Binnington is expected to be back between the pipes for Game 4 in the back-to-back situation despite the fact Jake Allen backstopped the team’s only victory of the series so far on Sunday. The Stanley Cup winning goaltender Binnington hasn’t won in four starts since the restart, losing Game 1 and 2 of this series, as well as two round-robin games against Colorado and Vegas. In fact, Binnington has allowed four or more goals in each of his past three outings. Head coach Craig Berube couldn’t possibly go right back to Allen again for Game 4, could he?
Markstrom has been rock steady in goal for the upstart Canucks, although is five-start winning streak came to an end in Sunday’s Game 3 overtime loss. Still, he hasn’t lost in regulation since Game 1 of the qualifying round against the Minnesota Wild, and he has allowed three or fewer goals in six of his seven starts since the restart. You need a hot goalie if you’re going to make noise in the hockey playoffs, and Markstrom is a big reason why the ‘Nucks are up 2-1 in this series.
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Blues vs. Canucks: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Monday at 8:00 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Blues 3, Canucks 2
Moneyline (ML)
The BLUES (-143) are champions, and they showed up with their backs against the wall in a 2-0 series hole. It wasn’t pretty, but they found a way against a hot goalie in Game 3 to get back into the series. There’s more where that came from, too.
The Canucks (+120) have been an amazing story, and are making life tough for the defending champs on every faceoff, every puck battle and every shift. It’s been one of the best series in all of hockey, and the margin of error is razor thin. St. Louis is going to get it done again in Game 4, and we’ll have a nice little best-of-three to figure out a winner, but not after another close game Monday.
New to sports betting? A winning $10 bet on the Blues to win Game 4 returns a net profit of $7, while the Canucks fetch a profit of $12 on a $10 wager if they win.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The Blues (-1.5, +195) cannot be trusted on the puck line just yet. They’re not playing their best hockey, and Markstrom isn’t giving them anything easy. St. Louis should win in Game 4, but it might take overtime yet again. PASS.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 5.5 (-125) hit in Game 3 for the first time in this series. Binnington has played uncharacteristically poor, allowing four or more goals in each of his past three starts, so there is some concern playing the under with his recent stretch. But look for Binnington to step up and play his best outing since the restart. If not, don’t be surprised to see Berube tab Allen if the wheels come off early.
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