Blues vs. Wild Odds
| Blues Odds | +105 |
| Wild Odds | -130 |
| Over/Under | 6.5 |
| Time | 9:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
The St. Louis Blues really set the tone for this series with their demanding 4-0 win in Game 1.
The story of the previous game was the performance by veteran forward David Perron, who powered the Blues with a hat-trick and assist.
Despite losing 4-0 on home ice, the Wild did in fact outshoot the Blues by a total of 37-31, so the encouraging news is that they can play with the Blues. They will need to find a way to convert those chances, though.
Blues' Special Teams Is NHL's Best
The Blues were one of the best teams in the league when it comes to special teams during the regular season, and they showed in that aspect up to play in Game 1. The power-play set the tone early and was able to convert on two of their six chances thanks to Perron.
As well as Perron played in Game 1, he may not have been the most impressive member of the Blues.
Ville Husso posted a 37-save shutout in his postseason debut and quite frankly, he couldn't have played any better. You can sense that the Wild were starting to get frustrated toward the end of the game because Husso was standing on his head.
St. Louis' special teams were already an advantage going into this series since everyone knows how good their power-play unit is. The 100% mark on the penalty kill, though, was especially impressive
The Blues came to play in Game 1 and I am expecting a very similar performance in Game 2.
Wild Need To Stay Out of the Box
The Wild were way too undisciplined in Game 1, committing six penalties. Even though the Wild didn't find a way to score, there are still a ton of positives to take away from this game. Minnesota not only outshot the Blues, but the Wild generated 18 high-danger chances and were expected to score at least 3.37 goals.
On the other side of the puck, we are going to see a significant change in goal as Cam Talbot is the expected starter for Minnesota in this game. Talbot had a phenomenal regular season, skating to a 32-12-4 record with a .911 save percentage and a 2.76 GAA.
Talbot gives the Wild a great chance to win, but the question will be how well his team plays in front of him.
Blues vs. Wild Pick
Even though the Wild may have outshot the Blues in Game 1, I still love what I saw from St. Louis. The Blues are just so strong on both sides of the puck and their power play and penalty kill could not have gotten off to a better start.
Sometimes when a team with a home-ice advantage loses in the way that the Wild did, it could ruin a team's confidence. The Wild did so many good things but weren't rewarded at all.
If the Blues can shut down the Wild in the opening 20 minutes once again in Game 2, we might see Minnesota show some frustration once again and play just as undisciplined as it did in Game 1.
I like the Blues to carry the momentum from Game 1 into Game 2 and get another victory on the road in Minnesota. I like the St. Louis Blues to get the win.
Pick: Blues +105
