Avalanche-Blues is the one second-round matchup set, which means more NHL futures betting opportunities. I expect a fair amount of goals to be scored in this series even though there are two good goaltenders - Darcy Kuemper of Colorado and Jordan Binnington of St. Louis. I would really focus in on one guy in particular for the Avalanche: Mikko Rantanen. 

Rantanen did not score a goal in the first round, though he did have five assists in the four-game sweep of Nashville. He wants to always be a goal-scorer, and I think he’ll get a few in this series. So, he’s a good prop bet to score I believe, especially in Game 1. David Perron and Vladimir Tarasenko are the two players I’d most center on for goal prop bets on betting apps.

Perron could not play at all against the Avs in last year’s playoffs because of Covid, so he’ll be extra motivated to make up for lost time. I’d focus on over/under betting more often than not in this series, but don’t overdo it. Both Kuemper and Binnington are capable of shutting the door on any given night.

Colorado has gotten out to great starts much of the season, so don’t be shy on betting the over in the first period with goal totals on them. St. Louis is a strong come-from-behind team, so the third-period totals betting lines are something to consider on them.

In terms of NHL betting trends, I expect Colorado to get another strong series from the uber-talented Cale Makar, so take him as a prop on points, but not necessarily goals. He mans the Avs’ power play, so he can rack up the assists in a hurry if the Blues take too many penalties. The Avs are the faster team by far, so they should get more calls from the referees than the Blues.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Odds: Avalanche vs Blues Series 

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NHL Betting Odds: Avs vs Blues Series Outlook

This is going to be a very good series to watch. These teams don’t like each other. There will be some bad blood, for sure. The Blues were swept in the first round by Colorado last year, and should be very motivated to get some revenge. 

Yet, the Avs are a very motivated bunch themselves. They have lost in the second round of the postseason three years running, and are desperate to get over this hump. They Avs have home-ice advantage, where they were dominant all year. They have more depth than the Blues, especially on defense. Blues D-man Torey Krug may not be available in the series because of a lower-body injury. 

The Blues got away with that in the first round against Minnesota, but it’ll be tougher to do that against the fast, skilled, deep Avs - who enter the series fully healthy.

The wild-card factor in this series is goaltending. Kuemper has not quite proven himself yet as a money goalie in his career, while Binnington has, having won a Stanley Cup in 2019. The Avs lit Binnington up last year, but he seems to be gaining confidence again after that win over the Wild. That makes the Blues a dangerous darkhorse.

I just don’t think the Blues have enough horses to hang with Colorado over a seven-game series, however. The Avs are 9-1 all-time against the Blues in their playoff history (one was a game in the bubble in Edmonton in 2020). The Avs want this more I think.

PREDICTION: Avalanche in six games, which you can get at +350 at DraftKings.

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