The St. Louis Blues have never won a home Stanley Cup playoff game in their history – but on Saturday night they host their first Finals game since 1970. Back then it was against Boston and it’s the Bruins in the building again Saturday in Game 3. St. Louis is favored on the Stanley Cup odds to take a 2-1 series lead.
Bruins vs Blues 2019 Stanley Cup Finals Game 3 Odds & Preview
- When: Saturday, 8 PM ET
- Where: Enterprise Center
- TV: NBC Sports Network
- Stream: NHL.tv
- Radio: Boston / St. Louis
- Opening NHL Lines: Blues -115, Bruins +105 (total 5)
Why Bet on Boston?
The Bruins’ eight-game playoff winning streak, third-longest in franchise history, came to an end on Wednesday night in a 3-2 overtime loss at home. Charlie Coyle and Joakim Nordstrom had the two Boston goals.
The Bruins went to a power play early in the game, and Jake DeBrusk showed off some great vision to find Coyle in the high slot for a quick shot to open the scoring. The goal broke a three-game pointless skid for Coyle, giving the Boston native seven goals and 13 points in 19 postseason contests. Nordstrom gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead less than a minute after St. Louis’ Robert Bortuzzo tied the game midway through the opening period. Nordstrom now has three goals and six points in 18 games this postseason.
The Bruins scored a power-play goal for the sixth straight game, the fourth such run in franchise history following seven-game stretches in 1958, 1988 and 1999. Boston has 19 total power-play goals this postseason, tied for the franchise’s second-most within a single playoff year behind only 1991 (24).
Tuukka Rask turned aside 34 of 37 shots. Rask was the busier of the two goalies and he was the best one in this game. The Bruins spotted him 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the first period. Matt Grzelcyk was injured late in the first period of Game 2 and he didn’t return to the contest. Grzelcyk was hit from behind into the boards by Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist.
When the Stanley Cup Finals are tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 holds an all-time series record of 22-6 (78.6%) since 1939.
Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.19
- Shots: 32.79
- PP/PK Percentage: 27.01
- Goals: 2.50
- Shots: 29.93
- PP/PK Percentage: 18.67
Why Bet on St. Louis?
Carl Gunnarsson scored in overtime to lift the Blues to their first-ever Stanley Cup Final victory on Wednesday as the franchise had been 0-13 all-time in Finals games. St. Louis earned its first Stanley Cup Final win 18,858 days after playing its first regular season game on Oct. 11, 1967.
Gunnarsson also registered an assist on Robert Bortuzzo’s game-tying goal (1-1) in the first period. The Blues defenseman picked a great time to score his first career playoff goal, as he put an end to Game 2 just 3:51 into overtime. Gunnarsson — who hit the post late in the third period — became the third player in NHL history to score his first career playoff goal in overtime of the Stanley Cup Final. Gunnarsson became the sixth defenseman in Blues history to score a playoff overtime goal (regardless of round). Gunnarsson also registered his first multi-point performance since Oct. 18, 2015.
Vladimir Tarasenko and Robert Bortuzzo had the other goals. Bortuzzo’s shot from the bottom of the right circle took a deflection off of a Bruin before going right over Tuukka Rask’s shoulder to get the Blues on the board midway through the opening period. Tarasenko capped off a four-goal first period by cleaning up a rebound off an initial shot by Jaden Schwartz. The goal extended Tarasenko’s point streak to eight games (10 points), bringing the Russian forward to 10 goals and 15 points in 21 postseason contests. The eight-game point streak is one shy of a playoff franchise record.
Jordan Binnington stopped 21 of 23 shots in the win. Binnington improved to 6-2 following a loss in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, registering his 13th win overall – the second-most ever by a rookie in a postseason. He’s 13-8 with a 2.37 goals-against-average and a .915 save percentage in these playoffs. Only five goaltenders in NHL history have posted more wins after defeat within a single postseason.
The Blues improved to 37-33 (.529) in their 70 total playoff overtime games, including a 12-17 record as visitors and 2-2 clip overall this year. This marks the 29th Stanley Cup Final that has been tied 1-1 since the series went to the best-of-seven format in 1939 (29-of-80 series, 36.3%).
Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.00
- Shots: 31.51
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.33
- Goals: 2.69
- Shots: 28.59
- PP/PK Percentage: 19.01
Bruins vs Blues Stanley Cup Finals Game 3 Betting Trends
- Bruins are 5-1 in their last 6 games as a road underdog
- Under is 5-0 in Bruins last 5 road games
- Blues are 11-4 in their last 15 Saturday games
- Blues are 19-7 in their last 26 home games
- Under is 7-2 in Blues last 9 home games vs. a team with a winning road record
Expert Stanley Cup Finals Prediction for Bruins vs Blues
Bruins 3, Blues 2
