The St. Louis Blues will face elimination on their home ice, as the Colorado Avalanche enter Game 4 with a 3-0 series lead. Colorado has strung together a trio of emphatic wins, with St. Louis rarely looking capable of getting into the series.
Can the 2019 Stanley Cup champions avoid a first round sweep at the hands of the Presidents' Trophy winners? Find out in our free NHL betting picks and predictions for Avalanche vs. Blues on May 23 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Avalanche vs Blues game info
• Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO
• Date: Sunday, May 23, 2021
• Time: 5:00 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC Sports Network
Avalanche vs Blues odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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NHL Sharp Money and Line Movement Report
By Patrick EversonColorado, going for the first-round sweep, opened -166 at FanDuel late Friday night and quickly shot to -196. Then the Avalanche kept right on going, reaching -250 Saturday night on the way to -270, where the moneyline rests at 2:30 p.m. ET today. No surprise, it's all Avs on the moneyline, at 93 percent of tickets and 97 percent of money. The total opened at 6 (Under -114) and dipped to 5.5 (Over -115), although the Over is getting 84 percent of bets/88 percent of cash.
Check out the full line movement for this gameAvalanche vs Blues series odds
Avalanche: -100,000
Blues: +8,000
Avalanche vs Blues betting preview
Injuries
Avalanche: Nazem Kadri C (Out), Erik Johnson D (Out), Matt Calvert LW (Out), Conor Timmins D (Questionable), Logon O'Connor RW (Out), Pavel Francouz G (Out).
Blues: Robert Burtuzzo D (Questionable), Justin Faulk D (Doubtful), Nathan Walker LW (Out), David Perron LW (Out), Jake Walman D (Out), Vince Dunn D (Out), Oscar Sundqvist C (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Avalanche are 8-2 in their last 10 meetings vs. the Blues. Find more NHL betting trends for Avalanche vs. Blues.
Puckline pick
The story of this series, up to this point, has been the matchup between each teams' top lines. Despite combining for just two points in a 5-1 Game 3 win, the Avalanche's top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen have dominated not just the series, but the Blues' top line. Landeskog, MacKinnon and Rantanen have combined for 18 points and are +13, while St. Louis' shutdown line of Brayden Schenn, Ryan O'Reilly and Jordan Kyrou are -15 while chipping in just three points.
The activity of Landeskog and Rantanen around the net has led to a few weak goals allowed by Jordan Binnington, with Colorado scoring 15 times in the series despite an expected goals of just 10.18 and 2.3 high-danger chances per game (down from 3.1 per game during the regular season).
Though Colorado's lack of secondary scoring has hurt it in the past, Nazem Kadri's eight-game suspension does not look like it will slow it down. Tyson Jost received meaningful top-six minutes down the stretch of the regular season and is a +1 with two points in the series, while rookie Alex Newhook has stepped in seamlessly and was rewarded with his first career goal in Game 3.
On the other end, Philipp Grubauer has made a few timely stops in every game, during brief spells when the Blues look threatening. Colorado's expected goals against is the fourth-lowest in the postseason, at 5.89, and it has allowed just five goals total.
The Avs' have been even more lethal in front of net than expected, and as one of the league's most effective offenses during the regular season, that has been a devastating blow to St. Louis. Combined with a defense playing incredibly disciplined hockey and a goalie not allowing any weak goals, and it's no surprise to see Colorado with a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Expect the NHL's best regular season team to finish the job in Game 4, and yet again cover the puckline after wins of 4-1, 6-3 and 5-1.
PREDICTION: Avalanche -1.5 (+130)
Over/Under pick
Despite mostly tight affairs between these two teams during the regular season, their first round series has seen a 2-1 O/U mark, thanks in large part to six- and five-goal efforts from the Avs in games two and three.
Colorado has continuously gotten to the Blues and Binnington, with St. Louis' lack of composure in the series has been apparent since Game 1. While the Avs outproduce their expected goals, with Binnington struggling since the opening game, they're simply not affording the Blues any real chances in front of net.
St. Louis has just four high-danger chances in the series, and its expected goals through three games is only higher than the Canadiens and Maple Leafs (through one game) and the Jets (through two games).
Though the Blues have shown little signs of life on the offensive end, they've also shown no ability to slow the Avs down. After a quiet Game 3, expect MacKinnon and Colorado's top unit to leave no doubt in Game 4.
PREDICTION: Over 5.5 (-115)
Avalanche vs Blues betting card
- Avalanche -1.5 (+130)
- Over 5.5 (-115)
Picks made on 5/22/2021 at 6:35 p.m. ET
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