The Dallas Stars and the St. Louis Blues are set to battle at the Enterprise Center in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semis. The game will get started at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 25, and you’ll be able to view this divisional matchup live on NBC Sports Network.
Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
St. Louis (-155) is the favorite over Dallas (+135). If you want to put some action on the matchup’s Over/Under (O/U) total, you’ll be looking at -115 for over 5 scores and +-105 for under under..
The Blues are 49-39 straight-up (SU) and have earned 2.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the Central Division so far in this young season, is right in line with what the team posted during last year’s regular season (44-38). Out of the team’s 88 regular season outings, 47 of them have gone under the total, while 36 have gone over and just five have pushed. This season, the team’s 25-19 SU at home.
St. Louis’ offense attempted 31.7 shots per game in the regular season, leading to 3.0 goals per contest (ranked 14th overall in the NHL). In the postseason, the club’s attempting an average of 30.7 shots on goal 2.7 goals per game.
Following a regular season where they scored on 21.5 percent of all power-play chances (the eighth-best), the Blues have been able to score on 26.3 percent of their postseason power plays. Their penalty kill has gone from 81.4 percent in the regular season to 78.6 percent in the playoffs.
Sporting a .905 save percentage and 25.1 saves per game, Jake Allen (19 wins, 27 losses, and eight OT losses) has been the principal goalkeeper for the Blues this year. If head coach Craig Berube decides to rest him, however, the Blue Notes may go with Jordan Binnington (28-10-10 record, .923 save percentage, 2.01 goals against average).
Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko will each lead the offensive attack for the Blues. O’Reilly (81 points) has tallied 30 goals and 51 assists and has recorded multiple points in 20 different games this year. Tarasenko has 35 goals and 35 assists to his credit and has notched at least one point in 48 games.
Dallas has earned 0.9 units for moneyline bettors this year and is currently 47-41 straight up (SU). A total of 51 of its games have gone under the total, while 26 have gone over and just 11 have pushed. Dallas’ 21-23 SU as the road team this season.
Dallas has scored on 20.8 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked fifth overall and it’s successfully killed off 83.9 percent of all penalties.
Dallas’ skaters have been penalized 3.4 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their past five contests. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays just 7.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Ben Bishop (27.7 saves per game) has been the main choice in goal for Dallas. Bishop owns a 32-20-3 record, and has registered a .936 save percentage and 1.97 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive firepower for the visiting Stars will be Tyler Seguin (35 goals, 51 assists) and Alexander Radulov (33 goals, 45 assists).
Dallas Stars at St. Louis Blues Free Picks
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The under has hit in three of St. Louis’ last five outings.
- Penalties and power plays could be extremely important tonight. The Stars are 16-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 29-34 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Blues are 24-20 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 37-26 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- St. Louis is ranked 8th in the league this season with 8.5 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended upward, as the team has managed 9.6 takeaways over its last 10 games and 11.2 takeaways over its last five.
- Dallas is ranked 21st in the league this season with 7.1 takeaways per game. That figure has trended higher recently, as it’s created 8.4 takeaways over its last 10 games and 8.0 takeaways over its last five.
