We have our first Game 7 – after three in the first round – of the 2019 Stanley Cup conference semifinal round as the Dallas Stars visit the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. It’s the fifth all-time Game 7 between the Central Division rivals. St. Louis is favored on the NHL betting lines.
How to Bet Stars vs Blues 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Odds & Game 7 Info
- When: Tuesday, 8 PM ET
- Where: Enterprise Center
- TV: NBC Sports Network
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Odds: St. Louis Blues -135 (Total 5)
Why Bet on Dallas?
The Stars had a chance to finish this series at home on Sunday but lost 4-1. Ben Bishop surrendered four goals on 20 shots. Bishop was stung by a high shot from Blues defender Colton Parayko in the third period. He appeared to take the shot off his collarbone and while he was down on the ice in pain, Jaden Schwartz scored to make it 3-1 for St. Louis. Bishop stayed in the game but he was pulled and left for the dressing room after Sammy Blais scored on a breakaway shortly later.NHL series supervisor Kay Whitmore addressed the St. Louis’ third goal of the game when Parayko hit Bishop up high with a shot, leaving Bishop down in the crease writhing in pain. With Bishop down, Schwartz scored into an open net to push the lead to 3-1 at 7:37 of the third period.
Whitmore on why the play wasn’t blown dead: “That’s what the rule says, 8.1. It means they don’t kill the play until they (the Stars) get possession of the puck.”
Anton Khudobin entered the game in relief of Bishop and logged 11:05 of action in the contest, stopping all five shots. Coach Jim Montgomery said after the game that Bishop should be fine to play Tuesday.
Tyler Seguin scored the lone goal for Dallas in the loss. Seguin tied the game 1-1 at the 11:35 mark of the first period, but the Stars didn’t get any other pucks behind Blues netminder Jordan Binnington in the contest. Mats Zuccarello and Jamie Benn assisted on Seguin’s power-play tally, which was his fourth goal of the postseason.
Taylor Fedun returned to the lineup for the Stars after missing the last two games – one as a healthy scratch and one due to injury. Fedun played 14:07 and recorded four hits. With Fedun back in, Dillon Heatherington came out of the lineup Dallas was simply outplayed. The Stars were limited to 23 shots on goal and 43 shot attempts; both were their lowest totals in the series. They had 11 shots from the slot, also their lowest total in the series. Finally, the Stars had three rush chances in the game, and that tied their lowest number in the series.
The Stars are 5-7 in their 12 all-time Game 7s, including a 2-4 clip as the visiting team.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 2.60
- Shots: 30.79
- PP/PK Percentage: 21.20
Defense
- Goals: 2.45
- Shots: 31.79
- PP/PK Percentage: 15.69
Why Bet on St. Louis?
The Blues won Game 6 after facing a 3-2 series deficit for the 10th time in franchise history and first since the 2000 Conference Quarterfinals. St. Louis has gone on to win a series after forcing a Game 7 three times in franchise history.The Blues and Stars will require Game 7 for the fifth time in their 14 all-time head-to-head series. The Blues own a 3-1 edge in the previous four such contests, winning the last one 6-1 in Dallas in 2016. Overall, the Blues own an all-time record of 8-8 in their 16 previous Game 7s, including a 4-2 mark on home ice.
David Perron had the game-winning goal on Sunday. Perron ended an eight-game goalless drought with his third marker of the postseason. He gave the Blues a 2-1 lead at 15:24 of the second period. Perron had three shots and two hits in the contest. It was Perron’s second career game-winning goal in the playoffs and first since the series clincher in Game 5 of the 2012 Conference Quarterfinals vs. San Jose.
Jaden Schwartz notched one goal and one assist in Sunday’s win and was the No. 1 star. Schwartz scored his eighth goal of the postseason during the third period to give the Blues a 3-1 lead. Schwartz had a helper on a first-period goal by Alex Pietrangelo in the contest. Schwartz’s eight playoff goals trail only Sharks forward Logan Couture, who has nine, for the league lead. Schwartz is now five goals of matching the franchise record for most in a postseason, a mark set by Brett Hull during the 1990 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Sammy Blais scored a goal in his NHL playoff debut on Sunday in Game 6. Blais had two shots and nine hits in 12:20 of ice time. He teed up a shot on a breakaway in the third period to give St. Louis its fourth goal of the game. The Blues made one lineup change, bringing in Blais and putting him on a new-look top line with Ryan O’Reilly and Perron. Robby Fabbri was scratched for Blais.
Jordan Binnington (22 saves) improved to 5-1 on the road in these playoffs (2.36 GAA, .918 SV%). He matched the franchise record for most road wins in a postseason, a mark set by Brian Elliott in 2016 (5-4).
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 2.97
- Shots: 31.55
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.58
Defense
- Goals: 2.71
- Shots: 28.66
- PP/PK Percentage: 19.16
Stars vs Blues 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Trends
- Underdog is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings
- Road team is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings
- Under is 4-1-1 in the last 6 meetings in St. Louis
- Stars are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
- The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Dallas’ last 13 games played on a Tuesday
- Blues are 14-6 SU in their last 20 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis’ last 6 games played in May
