The St. Louis Blues will be looking to seize their first series lead of this year’s Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night when they face the Boston Bruins in Game 5 as +135 underdogs on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
St. Louis avoided getting pushed to the brink of elimination from this year’s NHL playoffs with a 4-2 victory as narrow -115 home chalk in Game 4 action on Monday, tying the series at two games apiece going into Thursday night’s Blues vs. Bruins betting matchup at TD Garden.
This marks the fourth time this spring that the Blues have seen a playoff series end up knotted at 2-2 following Game 4. The team responded with Game 5 wins on the road on two occasions, edging the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 as +105 underdogs on their way to a series victory in six games in the opening round, and following up with a 5-0 thrashing of the San Jose Sharks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final in the second of three straight wins to clinch their first berth in the Stanley Cup Final in 49 years.
Overall, the Blues have played impressive hockey on the road during this year’s playoffs, going 8-3 in 11 contests away from Enterprise Center. The team has surrendered just 1.75 goals per game over their eight road victories, but when they have lost, they have lost big, getting outscored by a 14-7 margin over their three defeats, most recently dropping a 4-2 decision to Boston in Game 1 as +145 underdogs.
However, the Blues have managed to steal the momentum in this series by effectively shutting down the Bruins’ big guns. Boston’s top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak have yet to record a point at even strength in the series, while the trio of David Backes, Jake DeBrusk, and David Krejci have been held without a goal.
But with wins in four of their past five home games, the Bruins enter Game 5 perched as -155 favourites to reclaim the series lead on Thursday night. Overall, Boston has taken three of four from the Blues at TD Garden, and are -160 betting favourites to eventually win the series and this season’s Stanley Cup championship.
However, with the Bruins’ blue line corps hobbled by injuries to Zdeno Chara, Kevan Miller, and Matt Grzelcyk, Boston could face a serious challenge from a revitalized Blues squad listed as +140 underdogs on the NHL series prices to capture their first-ever Stanley Cup title.
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