Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues Best Bets: Will Vladimir Tarasenko Get on the Scoresheet?

Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues Best Bets: Will Vladimir Tarasenko Get on the Scoresheet?

After four games, the Blues find themselves with their backs against the wall as they hit the road for game five down 1-3 in the series. The hopes were high for the Blues entering the series behind Jordan Binnington, who had appeared to channel his 2019 Stanley Cup self before suffering a knee injury early in the series. Binnington will not return for the series, and now the best hope for the Blues is 27-year-old Ville Husso. Can the Blues mount a comeback and make it a series? Or will the Avalanche close it out on their home ice? I have the winning play on the lone game on the ice tonight (thanks to the Lightning sweeping and giving us fewer games to bet).

Avalanche vs. Blues Game 5 Start Time and Where to Watch

Date: May 25, 2022

When: 8:00 PM ET

Where to Watch: TNT

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Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues Game 5 Line Movement

Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues Game 5 Prediction

Ville Husso actually started more in the regular season over Binnington but was given the backup position after Binnington shut down the Wild and started well against the Avalanche. Now, Husso is back to starting, and he has looked less than perfect. It's hard to blame Husso, though, as he doesn't have much playoff experience. This is his first year of playoff experience, and so far, he is 1-4 with a 3.76 GAA. Husso gave up nine total goals in his two starts at home against the Avalanche and now has to travel and face them on the road once again. Husso had one start against the Avalanche before this series and two total games played in which he gave up six goals in 48 shots for a .875% save percentage and 4.53 GAA. It's safe to say the Avalanche may have his number, and if the Avalanche had that kind of success on the road, I can't imagine what we will see at home now. Husso has also been worse on the road compared to at home over his short career. Husso has a 2.54 GAA at home compared to a 2.93 GAA on the road.

The Blues have their backs against the wall and come into this game with urgency and nothing to lose. This is either their last game of the season, or they fight for a game six, which would be played at home, and a chance to tie the series. This sense of urgency and desperation should lead to a much more aggressive playstyle, which means we see an early goal from the Blues, or the aggression leads to an odd-man rush the other way for the Avalanche. The Blues will be coming into this one with the thought in their head that they need to score first and quickly, so they are not playing from behind. The Avalanche will do what they have been doing all series and put it past Husso. I think this will be an even more fast-paced game than we've seen during the series due to the Blue's desperation and Avalanche's chances for odd-man-rushes.

Due to the playstyle of tonight's game, I believe we see a goal in the first ten minutes. If the Avalanche score it, the Blues will play even more aggressively so they don't go down 0-2 in an elimination game. If the Blues score first, the Avalanche should press more since they want to close the series on their own ice instead of heading back to St. Louis. Therefore, I see the first period going over 1.5 goals. There is some juice on this, but that just shows in my eyes that the books agree with the type of game that I presented above. The full game over is a good bet, too, since the Blues will pull Husso very early if down, and we will see at least one empty-netter.

My favorite prop for tonight is Vladimir Tarasenko to score a goal. The right-winger led the Blues in scoring with 34 goals and 82 points overall in the regular season. Tarasenko scored five goals over six games in the Wild series yet has been completely silent in this series, and I believe he is due. Perron and Buchnevich have been lighting the lamp frequently in the series, so I expect the defensive eyes to shift away from Tarasenko as a result. If the Avalanche close out the series tonight, and they most likely will, I doubt Tarasenko will go the entire series without a goal.

Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues Game 5 Picks

• 1st Period Over 1.5 (-165) (Bet $165 to Win $100)
• Vladimir Tarasenko Anytime Goal Scorer (+220) (Bet $100 to Win $220)

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