NHL Playoff Picks & Parlays - 06/09

Here are Today’s NHL Picks:

Bruins @ Blues

Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final is Sunday night as the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins play in St. Louis. The Blues have a chance to win the most cherished trophy in sports at home. Now, St. Louis did get a bit of help in their 2-1 win on Thursday night as the game flow was a bit all over the place. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final is Sunday night as the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins play in St. Louis. The Blues have a chance to win the most cherished trophy in sports at home. Now, St. Louis did get a bit of help in their 2-1 win on Thursday night as the game flow was a bit all over the place. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final is Sunday night as the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins play in St. Louis. The Blues have a chance to win the most cherished trophy in sports at home. Now, St. Louis did get a bit of help in their 2-1 win on Thursday night as the game flow was a bit all over the place.

Now, let’s look at the goalies.

Goalie Digest:

Jordan Binnington made clutch saves, got a little lucky, then had some moments that were otherworldly. Overall, he turned away 38 of 39 shots in the victory. Furthermore, the Boston power play was stopped cold at every chance – mostly by Binnington, who was the last line of defense. Though, Boston was snake bit, the St. Louis goalie found ways to keep the puck out of the net even if it meant using his defensemen sometimes.

Tuukka Rask stopped 19 of 21 shots as he enjoyed another game where his save percentage was .900 or above. His consistency was nice on Thursday, but one could argue that if he had just stopped one of those two goals. To be fair, the second goal probably never should have occurred. However, that is for another time.

With the way Binnington is playing, he may need to see a few more slot shots in Game 6 as Boston’s attack must be more from the forward core as the defense is so banged up.

Shots and chances expect to be a bit more tilted to St. Louis at times, but Boston’s urgency could foul those projections up. This is the first time a team is facing elimination. Also, it has been one odd series so what would be a little more in the bizarre department? Tuukka Rask will have to be brilliant early and Jordan Binnington probably will have to be amazing late.

Jordan Binnington made clutch saves, got a little lucky, then had some moments that were otherworldly. Overall, he turned away 38 of 39 shots in the victory. Furthermore, the Boston power play was stopped cold at every chance – mostly by Binnington, who was the last line of defense. Though, Boston was snake bit, the St. Louis goalie found ways to keep the puck out of the net even if it meant using his defensemen sometimes.

Tuukka Rask stopped 19 of 21 shots as he enjoyed another game where his save percentage was .900 or above. His consistency was nice on Thursday, but one could argue that if he had just stopped one of those two goals. To be fair, the second goal probably never should have occurred. However, that is for another time.

With the way Binnington is playing, he may need to see a few more slot shots in Game 6 as Boston’s attack must be more from the forward core as the defense is so banged up.

Shots and chances expect to be a bit more tilted to St. Louis at times, but Boston’s urgency could foul those projections up. This is the first time a team is facing elimination. Also, it has been one odd series so what would be a little more in the bizarre department? Tuukka Rask will have to be brilliant early and Jordan Binnington probably will have to be amazing late.

Jordan Binnington made clutch saves, got a little lucky, then had some moments that were otherworldly. Overall, he turned away 38 of 39 shots in the victory. Furthermore, the Boston power play was stopped cold at every chance – mostly by Binnington, who was the last line of defense. Though, Boston was snake bit, the St. Louis goalie found ways to keep the puck out of the net even if it meant using his defensemen sometimes.

Tuukka Rask stopped 19 of 21 shots as he enjoyed another game where his save percentage was .900 or above. His consistency was nice on Thursday, but one could argue that if he had just stopped one of those two goals. To be fair, the second goal probably never should have occurred. However, that is for another time.

With the way Binnington is playing, he may need to see a few more slot shots in Game 6 as Boston’s attack must be more from the forward core as the defense is so banged up.

Shots and chances expect to be a bit more tilted to St. Louis at times, but Boston’s urgency could foul those projections up. This is the first time a team is facing elimination. Also, it has been one odd series so what would be a little more in the bizarre department? Tuukka Rask will have to be brilliant early and Jordan Binnington probably will have to be amazing late.​​

Strength vs Strength:

Once again, Ryan O’Reilly was clutch with a goal and an assist in a low-scoring game. He was the Blues’ best player aside from the goaltender. He also kept Boston’s attack just far enough away at times. Honestly, Boston was the better team for most of the game. On the other hand, at key points, St. Louis found ways to expose the Bruins’ defense.

One of the biggest problems Boston will have in Game 6 is at what point do they consider going with six defensemen minus Zdeno Chara? It must be discussed at least. Boston is 0-3 versus the Blues when they play more or less than six defensemen. The continuity of a 12F-6D lineup cannot be overrated.

At 5 on 5 Boston set a hellish pace and probably should have potted a goal or two early. St. Louis instead scored the early goal which set the under in motion especially when Boston missed chance after chance. Expected goals for was 2.29 to 1.46 for Boston with half of that push coming in the first 20 minutes.

It was strange that the top Boston line had 13 shots on goal and just a couple of good chances overall. Part of that was because Boston’s power play did not score once despite several prime opportunities. They came close but, in the end, Jordan Binnington shut the door. Again, the Blues did get some breaks including the minor that was missed on the second St. Louis goal.

Game 6 Betting Picks:

Our betting rationale is a bit hesitant in this tilt. We took a big risk on the moneyline with St. Louis and it paid off nicely for Game 5. What does Game 6 have in store is the big question? Can the Blues close this series out? They did eliminate Winnipeg and San Jose by holding on for dear life. Boston is better than both of those teams which Is a bit troubling.

Also, Boston has been here before. They were down three games to two versus Toronto and won Game 6 in Toronto. After that, they cruised to a big win in Game 7 and eliminated their rival. It will be more difficult to do that this time considering St. Louis is much more physical, has the goaltending, and Boston is nowhere near as healthy.  

Can Boston survive the first ten minutes much like St. Louis did on Thursday night? The feeling is that the Blues are going to go for an early knockout. That is so they can hold on for dear life later. Expect another game where there are fewer power plays as the playoffs draw closer to an end. A lot more is allowed than during the regular season.

If the line stays where it is, taking a shot on St. Louis is prudent. If it begins to shift too much where the Blues are a -140 or greater, then Boston becomes too good of a play to pass up. Watch where the lines close.

1u – STL Blues MoneyLine @ -129

1u – Under 5.5 total goals @ -142

By Chris Wassel