Blues vs. Wild Game 5 Pick
Will the Minnesota Wild be able to keep their season alive today at 3PM ET when they host the St. Louis Blues for Game 5?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Wild are the clear favorite at home, as they are getting odds of -180 to win, while the Blues are listed with a money line of +150 to win. The over/under total for the game is set at 5 goals.
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Minnesota avoided a sweep when they picked up a 2-0 win at St. Louis in Game 4 on Wednesday night. It was the first shutout in the series, but all four games have been rather low scoring, with these two hitting the under in their last five meetings. Minnesota comes into today’s game 50-27-9 overall and 27-13-3 at home while St. Louis is 49-30-7 overall and 24-17-2 on the road.
In Game 4, both teams had even numbers in most stats, as each had 28 shots, six penalty minutes and six takeaways. Minnesota had a slight edge in faceoffs, 31-30, while the Blues had the edge in hits, 34-28. Charlie Coyle scored the first goal late in the first and then Martin Hanzal scored in the second period to make it 2-0. Devan Dubnyk made saves on all 28 saves he had.
Game 4 may have finally sparked something in the Wild entering today’s game. Minnesota is a team that has the talent to make a 4-game run at the Blues. The Wild will be at home, where their record is pretty strong. Dubnyk also could get hot following a shutout and could lead this team to a run. Though the Wild have just five goals in the series, the Blues only have seven. St. Louis could continue to struggle to find the net today on the road.
NHL PLAYOFFS PREDICTION: MINNESOTA WILD -180
