The St. Louis Blues and the Vancouver Canucks resume their Western Conference quarterfinals series for Game 5 on Wednesday 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.
Canucks vs. Blues: Projected starting goalies
Jacob Markstrom vs. Jake Allen
Markstrom has been steady since the restart, and he has yielded three or fewer goals in each of his four starts in this series. The difference for the Canucks has been on offense, as they averaged 4.5 goals per game in the first two outings, and just 1.5 goals per game in the previous two. If that lack of offense continues, the defending champs are going to keep winning in this series.
Head coach Craig Berube made the choice to go back to Allen for Game 4, and it paid off in spades. After Allen picked up the overtime win in Game 3, he was right back at it and winning again. It was not an easy choice for Berube, getting away from Jordan Binnington, who led the team to 16 wins and a Stanley Cup last season. But a 2-0 series hole meant desperate times call for desperate measures, and the veteran Allen has answered the bell. Allen is 2-0 in this series, and 2-1 with a 1.20 GAA and .961 SV% in three starts since play resumed.
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Canucks vs. Blues: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Wednesday at 8:15 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Blues 3, Canucks 1
Moneyline (ML)
The BLUES (-143) are back on track with consecutive wins to pull even and make this a best-of-three series. The Canucks (+120) have seen the offensive lights go out as Berube’s change to Allen in goal has been a masterful move. St. Louis is playing with that championship confidence again, and you have to keep backing them in this decisive Game 5.
New to sports betting? A winning $10 bet on the Blues to win Game 5 returns a net profit of $6.99, 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, +190) are worth a small-unit play, as you can nearly double up. After some defensive lapses and shaky tendy play in the first two games, they’re back, and Allen is leading the way to victories.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 5.5 (-139) has cashed in the past two games, with a total of nine goals on the board in the two St. Louis wins. They have tightened up their backcheck, defense and goaltending, and under bettors will get a great value as long as the total doesn’t go back down to a flat five.
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