Find out how the market lines up for Game 3 of the first round playoff series between the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues and where the value NHL picks are to be had. The President Trophy winners Colorado Avalanche are riding the momentum of a seven-game winning streak into game 3 of their first round playoff series against West Division rivals St. Louis Blues.
The Avs capped off their regular season with a five-game winning streak to overtake the Las Vegas Golden Knights at the top of the league’s table. As the playoffs got underway, they backed up their title credentials with a dominating performance over the Blues, clinching the first two games by a combined score of 10-4. With the Avs firmly in the driver’s seat, the series now heads to Enterprise Center where the Blues will hope to capitalise on home-ice advantage and claw their way back into contention. Whether they’ll do so will be answered in due course but as far as the betting goes for game 3, market confidence in the hosts is conspicuously low.
As per multiple top sportsbooks, the Blues are trading as the quintessential underdogs. BetOnline Sportsbook , for example, tips the Blues as the far flung +193 underdogs on the moneyline, a value which represents a 34.1% chance of winning. By contrast, the Avs are firmly favourite and the highest probability of winning (68.3%) is available with Intertops, where Colorado is pegged to -215 on the moneyline. Will the Avs take this serious by the scruff or will the Blues finally take the initiative? Find out as we preview game 3 and serve up choice bets to spot.
Friday, May 21, 2021, 9:30 PM ET at Enterprise Center
The Colorado Avalanche have underscored their fine season-ending form that delivered the President Trophy by extending their winning streak to seven straight games. Colorado opened the West Division first round series against the Blues with a commanding 4-1 win on Monday and then advanced their series lead behind a 6-3 decimation at Ball Arena on Wednesday night. As a result, they’re the clear-cut faves on the NHL odds board for game 3.
After a dominant 50-shot effort against the Blues in game 1, the Avs picked up from where they left off and piled the pressure on the Blues. Although they ultimately got six goals into the net, it was a one-goal game until the last five minutes of the third period. The last two goals were empty net goals as the Blues had pulled Jordan Binnington in an attempt to tie the game late.
Nathan McKinnon had a stellar outing, scoring a hattrick and adding an assist to help lift Colorado to a 2-0 series lead. Joonas Donskoi scored two goals and an assist and Brandon Saad contributed a goal. Philipp Grubauer made 32 of 35 saves for a .914 save percentage.
While the Blues haven’t played badly in this series, they’re nevertheless on the ropes and staring at a big gaping 0-2 hole to arguably the best team in the league this season. It was always going to be a tough ask against the Avalanche, but now it’s even more so. Some might go so far to say as an impossible, if not improbable task. Hence, the rather large and discouraging NHL odds for St. Louis in its first home game of the playoffs.
The three-goal effort in game 2 marked an improvement by the Blues after they were held to merely a goal in game 1 and wholly overrun by the Avalanche’s 50-shot offensive. For the better part, the Blues were well and truly in the game, even scoring a quick goal after the Avs took a 4-2 lead to bring the score to within a goal. Samuel Blais, Mike Hoffman and Brayden Schenn provided the scoring for the Blues while Jordan Binnington made 29 of 33 saves.
The Blues will look to bank on home advantage in game 3 and make a fist of this series. To be fair, they’ve got no other option, otherwise they’ll be faced with an almost insurmountable 0-3 hole, which most of the time is extremely hard to overcome in the playoffs. Thus, the onus is purely on the Blues to win at home. Equally, by that same token, with the stakes so high, there’s likely to be a push in the betting towards a home win in particular amongst bettors that are keen to capitalise on their tasty underdogs.
And yet, the Avs might be just as good as the odds suggest they are. After all, they’re the President Trophy winners for a reason, not to mention they’re riding the momentum of a seven-game winning streak. Inasmuch as the Blues will be eager to get into the series, the Avs will be just as motivated to take this series by the scruff of its neck. Effectively quash any notion of a comeback by the Blues before it gets off the ground.
Of the aforementioned two scenarios, the lean here is towards the Avs taking this series in hand. And the best bet to satisfy that prediction is found on the puckline where the Avs are a tempting bet at -1.5 (+122) found currently with Heritage Sports.
NHL Picks: Avalanche -1.5 (+122) with Heritage Sports