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2019 Stanley Cup Final: Best bets for Game 5
2019 Stanley Cup Final: Best bets for Game 5
ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)
With the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs reaching a crescendo, there are plenty of betting opportunities for each game. Our experts -- Emily Kaplan, Chris Peters, Ben Arledge and Greg Wyshynski -- will be here each day throughout the Stanley Cup Final, giving their best bets for each game.
All odds courtesy of Caesars.
Thursday's Game 5
St. Louis Blues (+140) at Boston Bruins(-155)
Game 5 puck line odds: Blues +1.5 (-210), Bruins -1.5 (+180)
Game 5 over/under: 5.5 goals
Wyshynski: The Blues are winning the war of attrition at this point of the series, adding players to their lineup (Vince Dunn) as the Bruins lick their wounds, with Zdeno Charalikely to miss Game 5 with a "facial injury." The Blues are 8-3 in their last 11 on the road and 9-4 in their last 13 games in Boston. But again, the reason to grab them here is that the longer series go, the better the Blues are, going 6-1 in games after Game 4 in their previous three rounds.
Pick: Blues +140
Peters: This series has no discernible momentum, no flow and no easily predictable outcomes. That said, the Bruins are hurting on the blue line even more with Chara potentially out for Game 5. The Blues were by far the better team in Game 4, too, even though it was a relatively close one. The Bruins, however, have not lost back-to-back games since Games 2 and 3 against the Blue Jackets, and that second loss was on the road. This series is such a tug-of-war, too, that you'd only expect the Bruins to wrestle control back at home. The uncertainty on defense at least makes you think about the alternative, though. The only safe bet, it seems, has been the over. All of the games have featured at least five goals, and three of the four went over.
Picks: Bruins and the over
Stanley Cup Final series picks
Wyshynski: It's almost charming that after one of the most unpredictable Stanley Cup playoffs in recent memory, the championship round pits the two teams playing the best hockey in the postseason against each other. No Cinderellas. No juggernauts. Just good regular-season teams that are rolling at the right time. What's fun about this series is how similar these teams have looked in the past couple of rounds: rolling four lines, getting exemplary goaltending, winning the special-teams battles and paying the physical toll. That said, I like the Blues (+145) to win the series in six games. Boston has home ice, but the Blues have won two of their three series without it, going 7-2 with a plus-9 goal differential. They're peaking at the right time.
Peters: There are some valid concerns about the Bruins having an 11-day layoff, but their seven-game winning streak heading into the break is far more telling about their play. Should Boston come out flat against the Blues early in Game 1, it would matter a little bit, as it makes that game harder to win. But there hasn't been an instance in this postseason when the Blues looked totally vulnerable. They're healthy and locked in. That's especially true of goaltender Tuukka Rask, whom I view as the X factor in the series. As good of a story as Jordan Binnington has been, Rask has been the better and more consistent goaltender this postseason and has played in a Stanley Cup Final before. I think the Blues will give Boston absolutely everything they have, as they're coming in hot too. But I think experience matters, and the Bruins have a lot of it. Bruins in seven.
Kaplan: I like the Bruins in seven, and I think this one will be a slugfest. A good power play isn't essential for a Stanley Cup run (Boston's PP actually wasn't very good in the 2011 playoffs), but let's note that Boston's man-advantage unit is going at a historic pace. Rask has been unbelievable, and yes, the 11 days between games might affect him most, but I can't imagine that the veteran will be fazed by it. While both teams have all four lines clicking, Boston's top line is more dangerous and has the capacity to steal games single-handedly.
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