Our NHL expert previews Tuesday’s Game 7 showdown between the St Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars and picks out the best bet from the match.
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Nothing beats a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and we will have our fourth such winner-take-all affair of this postseason on Tuesday night as the Dallas Stars visit the Central Division rival St. Louis Blues. The hosts are -143 favorites on the SugarHouse sportsbook moneyline with Dallas at +118 and the total at five goals. The under is favored there.
There were three Game 7s in the first round, and the home team won two (Capitals were the home losers). The NHL regular season is largely worthless, as evidenced by the top-seeded team in each conference (Tampa Bay and Calgary) being ousted in Round 1. However, this is when the regular season does matter: To get a home Game 7. It’s the fifth all-time Game 7 between the Stars and Blues. St. Louis leads 3-1 and took the last one in 2016 in a 6-1 blowout in Dallas.
St. Louis forced this game with Sunday’s 4-1 victory as a road underdog. It was the Blues’ first win in the 2019 playoffs by more than one goal. David Perron scored the eventual game-winner at 15:24 of the second, his third goal of these playoffs. Jaden Schwartz and Sammy Blais (in his playoff debut, replacing Robby Fabbri) scored in a 33-second span of the third period to break it open. Schwartz added an assist and was the No. 1 star. He’s second among all players with eight playoff goals this year and five shy of the team record set by future Hall of Famer Brett Hull in 1990.
Rookie goalie Jordan Binnington, a Calder Trophy finalist, had to stop only 22 shots. Binnington and the Blues are 5-1 on the road in these playoffs, with Binnington tying the team record for road wins in a single postseason set by Brian Elliott three years ago.
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 Game 7 following that scenario just three times, last in the 1999 conference quarterfinals against the Coyotes. 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.
Tyler Seguin had the lone Dallas goal in Game 6. He leads the club with 11 points in the playoffs. The Stars’ 23 shots on goal and 43 overall shot attempts were both their lowest totals in this series. Defenseman Taylor Fedun was back in the lineup for Game 6 after missing Game 5 with swelling near his left eye.
Dallas netminder Ben Bishop took a shot off his collarbone area in Game 6 and was pulled for backup Anton Khudobin, but Coach Jim Montgomery says Bishop should be good to go Tuesday. He has a 2.32 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in these playoffs. This will be the Stars’ 13th all-time Game 7. They are 5-7 in the previous 12 and 2-4 as the road team.
Dallas has won four of its past five games in St. Louis, but we’re not sure that Bishop is 100 percent as he looked in serious pain after taking that shot and then leaving. Back the Blues and go under the total as St. Louis wins 2-1. That both teams don’t score at least two goals is -117 at SugarHouse.
PICK: Both Teams Not to Score 2 Goals @ -117 Odds at SugarHouse
