
St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche Pick: Will The Blues Have The Upper Hand in Game 3?
Game three of the second-round series between the Blues and Avalanche will take place from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The Avalanche quickly cruised through the first round, beating the Predators 4-0, while the Blues had a more challenging first round, taking the Wild to game seven and beating them on the road. The Blues have shown to be a much more formidable opponent for the Avalanche and were even able to steal one on the road, which is big in this series. Now, the Blues get a chance to take the lead in the series on their home ice. Let's dive into my prediction, pick, and the odds for Game 3 between the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche.
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Blues vs. Avalanche Game 3 Start Time and Where to Watch, and Odds
- Date: May 21, 2022
- Game Time: 8:00 pm ET
- Where to Watch: TNT
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St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche Game 3 Line Movement
St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche Game 3 Prediction
The most significant factor in this game, in my eyes, is the emergence of "Playoff Binnington." Goaltender Jordan Binnington appeared to have a rough regular season this year. Binnington had a career-high GAA and allowed 3.13 goals per game, with his lowest career save percentage at 90.1%. However, Binnington has quickly emerged as one of the top goalies in the playoffs and is arguably the largest reason the Blues won the series against the Wild. Blues fans have not forgotten that in just his first year of starting full time, Binnington's excellence led the Blues to a Stanley Cup Trophy when he was just 25.
Binnington has allowed two goals or less in regulation in each one of his five starts in the playoffs, and this was against two of the top-five scoring offenses in the NHL. Also, three of those five were on the road. Binnington is coming fresh off a performance of just one goal allowed on 31 shots in the Blues' 4-1 win on the road. It's clear that his performance is elevating the Blues in these playoff series.
Part of what makes St. Louis so dangerous is their special teams. The Blues are second in scoring with the man advantage at 27% and fifth in defending shorthanded with an 84.1% penalty kill. Special teams loom large in the playoffs, and this is without a doubt a key piece that has helped them be successful thus far. The Avalanche are just average with a man in the box, sporting the 15th ranked penalty kill at 79.7%. The Blues are 2/3 on the power play in this series, proving to be highly successful against the Colorado penalty kill. That was on the road as well, so with the crowd behind them, any power-play opportunity could spell disaster for Colorado.
The Blues will have the last line change as the home team in this game and will have an enthusiastic crowd to back them. The Avalanche split their home games, so the pressure is now on Colorado in my eyes to not fall behind in the series. Jordan Binnington looks like the same goalie we saw win the Stanley Cup just a few years ago, and he has been a brick wall between the pipes. I'm backing the Blues tonight to get it done, and I love the price we can get on the home team.
St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche Game 3 Best Bet
Pick: St. Louis Blues ML @ +145 (Bet $100 to win $145)
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Article Author
Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.