Avalanche vs. Blues Odds
| Avalanche Odds | -165 |
| Blues Odds | +135 |
| Over/Under | 6.5 (=120/+100) |
| Time | 8 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
The Colorado Avalanche had a chance to put this series away in Game 5, taking a 3-1 lead into the final frame. But the St. Louis Blues showed their resilience, not only tying the game at three apiece, but tying it up again at 4-4 after they let up an incredible goal by Nathan MacKinnon late in the game.
MacKinnon put his team on his back in Game 5, but they did not get the result they wanted. The Avalanche have certainly been the better team in four of the five games so far and I believe they learned their lesson the hard way in that last defeat.
I expect the Avalanche to come out on the road and give their best effort in the postseason.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche have been the best offensive team in the Stanley Cup playoffs, getting important contributions throughout their lineup.
Even though the whole team is contributing offensively, their top guys have played the best. They have five players who are averaging more than a point per game, and to no surprise, MacKinnon heads the way with 13 points. Cale Makar also has 13, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen each have 11, and Nazem Kadri has 10.
The last time these teams met in St. Louis, Kadri was the story. He had three goals and an assist, and could be a distraction once again in Game 6 as Blues fans do not like him after he injured starting goaltender Jordan Binnington.
As a team, the Avalanche have been incredibly explosive offensively, leading the playoffs with 4.44 goals per game. They also have the No. 1 power play, which is converting at a 33.3% rate.
If Colorado can get a good performance from Darcy Kuemper, the offense should be able to do its thing and win the Avs this series on Friday night.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues proved they aren't going down easily as they clawed their way back in Game 5 after digging themselves into a 3-0 hole. Now they head back to their home ice, where they weren't able to beat the Avalanche in the previous two meetings, so the Blues need to find a way to feed off of their home crowd and take this series to a Game 7.
Just like the Avalanche, the Blues are also a very strong offensive team. They have the second-best man-advantage unit, which is converting at a 32.4% rate, but the last thing the Blues want to do is get into a scoring contest with the Avs. St. Louis needs to tighten up defensively as it has allowed a total of 19 goals in the first five games of this series.
Ville Husso has stepped in due to the injury to Binnington and has done fine, but the Blues really need Husso to get back to where he was during the regular season if they want any shot at coming back to win this series. In the postseason, he is skating to a .884 save percentage and a 3.78 GAA with a -5.7 GSAx — nowhere near good enough to beat a team like the Avalanche.
Avalanche vs. Blues Pick
The Avalanche have proven that they are fearless on the road, and no disrespect to the Blues, but the Avalanche are a much better team. To me, the X-factor will be Darcy Kuemper, who has been solid in the playoffs, but definitely did not have his best performance in Game 5.
Kuemper has a .904 save percentage and a 2.5 GAA along with a -2.5 GSAx, so there is definitely room for improvement. Kuemper is more than capable of stealing a game on the road, which he has already done twice in this series.
Colorado's offense has shown it can take over games, the only question mark is if the Avs can keep the Blues off the board. I'm betting on the Avalanche being pissed after letting Game 5 slip away and see them playing a full 60 minutes on Friday night.
I like the Avs to finish this thing.
Pick: Avalanche to win in regulation (-110)
