The St. Louis Blues earned a major victory in Game 5 of this first-round series Tuesday night. In a series that was tied, 2-2, St. Louis scored the last four goals en route to a 5-2 win over the Wild in Minnesota.
Now, the Blues get the luxury of playing Thursday’s potentially series-ending Game 6 in front of their fans, the end of the Wild’s season or can they force a Game 7?
As we examine this NHL game betting preview, let’s take a look at the best options for NHL picks in this contest.
The only Wild player that really stood out Game 5 was their superstar, Kirill Kaprizov. He’s been on fire this entire postseason, scoring seven goals in this series.
That’s a franchise record for a series. Kaprizov’s two early goals gave Minnesota the advantage, but the team wasn’t able to add to it and eventually fell apart.
This seems to be a trend throughout this series. Kaprizov even has three of the Wild’s four power-play goals.
If the Wild are hoping to keep their championship hopes alive, somebody else will have to step to the fore.
Blues Choose Correct Goalies
Ville Husso shut out the Wild in the opening game of this series, but badly struggled in Games 2 and 3. Since then, Jordan Binnington has stepped in and done the job.
Binnington stopped 30 shots in Game 5, and then received high praise from his head coach Craig Berube.
The offense took advantage, with Vladimir Tarasenko himself scoring three goals in the third period, including two in an 88-second span early, then an empty-netter late to close the sale.
St. Louis holds all the cards moving into Game 6, and cutting off Minnesota now is the objective. If the goaltending remains as steady as it’s been, they can pull this off.
Wild vs Blues Head-to-Head
St. Louis has won five of the seven games between the teams this season including the postseason. Momentum is clearly in their corner as they head into Game 6.
The total for this upcoming Game 6 is set at 6.5 in the sportsbook. These two teams have been able to surpass that total in three out of their last five games against one another, including their last two.
With the Wild struggling to score, perhaps we’ll see them start to get hot and create a high-scoring contest
You don’t usually see a team completely roll over in what should be a very intense Game 6. Both teams will be playing for a lot, and it should show in the final score. If you betonline, over the number is the way to go.
Derrick Erickson has been entrenched in sports media over the last decade. From working in fantasy sports to the sports betting side of things, he's been plugged in for quite some time. His favorite teams include the Texas Longhorns, Dallas Cowboys, and Dallas Mavericks.
![MLB Picks, Predictions & Best Baseball Betting Odds [Friday May 20]](https://cdn-bcmke.nitrocdn.com/FhMIXoNValmFJErBGxsWCoKAdOAOBcHv/assets/static/optimized/rev-dfca814/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/mlb-picks-predictions-best-baseball-betting-odds-friday-may-20-120x86.jpg)
