Through four games in their second-round series, the Dallas Stars and the St. Louis Blues are tied, 2-2. Now they’re leaving the Lone Star State and heading into the Enterprise Center in St. Louis for a highly anticipated game 5. Heading into the matchup, the sportsbook moneyline favors the Blues at -140, but you can also check out the latest prices for all series here. Read on for a preview of Game 5 of the Stars-Blues series below.
Betting on the Dallas Stars (43-32-7 Regular Season)
The Stars mixed up their top two lines in Game 4 in hopes of sparking up their offense, and boy did they just do that. The Stars put rookie Roope Hintz on the second line together with Jamie Benn and Alex Radulov, while Tyler Seguin was left on the top line with Jason Dickinson and Mats Zuccarello. The result was a four-goal night for Dallas, which got Hintz to score his fifth goal of the playoffs. Meanwhile, Seguin, Zuccarello, and Radulov each recorded two assists. It’s hard to imagine Dallas breaking up those new line configurations given the success the team had in Game 4, so expect the same lines rolling out into the ice this Friday. Stars goalie Ben Bishop rebounded from having allowed four goals in Game 3’s loss to St. Louis by stopping 27 of 27 shots faced on Wednesday. Bishop is 6-4 with a 2.24 GAA and .931 SV% in 10 starts so far in the playoffs.
Dallas is 2-2 in its last four road games.
Betting on the St. Louis Blues (45-28-9 Regular Season)
The Blues failed to get a two-game series lead when they lost to Dallas on the road in Game 4 on Thursday, 4-2. St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington wasn’t as sharp as St. Louis wanted him to be, as he surrendered four goals on 31 shots faced. Binnington’s play has simply declined in the second round of the playoffs in which he already has allowed 12 goals in four games. Based on his performance of late, Binnington is going to need St. Louis’ offense to cover up for his shortcomings, which his teammates tried in Game 4, especially Vladimir Tarasenko, who scored a goal. It was Tarasenko’s third goal of the series and fifth of the playoffs. Jaden Schwartz leads St. Louis this postseason with six goals to go with two assists. Tarasenko and Schwartz have been consistent performers on the Blues’ top line along with Ryan O’Reilly, who have zero goals in the last five games but has five assists over that stretch.
St. Louis is 7-3 against the spread (ATS) in its last 10 at home.
