Game Information
St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets - Game 1 of Western Conference quarterfinals
Time: 5pm CT Saturday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network, TNT, truTV, MAX
DraftKings Series Odds
Odds: Jets -190, Blues +160
DraftKings Game 1 Odds
Moneyline: Jets -185, Blues +154
Total: 5.5 (over +120, under -142)
Blues, Jets Ready For Game 1
The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Saturday when the St. Louis Blues meet the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series at Canada Life Centre.
The Blues went 1-2-1 against the Jets during the regular season, with the road team winning three of the four games. It was a tightly contested season series, with Winnipeg outscoring St. Louis by a narrow 11-10 margin.
Keys To The Series
1) Make Winnipeg feel the pressure
The Jets were clearly the best team in the NHL during the regular season. They finished tied for third in goals scored, first in fewest goals allowed, first in goal differential, and of course first in points as the winners of the Presidents’ Trophy.
But the Jets remind me a lot of the pre-2019 Blues. Winnipeg made the Western Conference Final in 2018 before losing in 5 games to Vegas, and it has been nothing but disappointment ever since:
2019 - Lost in 6 in first round (to the Blues)
2020 - Lost 3 games to 1 in qualifying round
2021 - Swept in second round
2022 - Missed playoffs
2023 - Lost in 5 in first round
2024 - Lost in 5 in first round
Maybe they are battle-tested and ready like the Blues were in 2019, but all the pressure is on the Jets in this series. The Blues are free-rolling after going on an insane run to get to this point. If they can steal one of the first two games, the Winnipeg fans and Canadian media will be adding even more pressure than the Jets are already feeling.
And Presidents’ Trophy winners have not fared well in the playoffs in recent years, as eight of the last nine didn’t make it past the second round. Only one made the conference final, none made the Stanley Cup Final, and two were knocked out in the first round.
2) Get off to good starts
The Blues would be wise to get off to strong starts in this series, as there has been no better team at protecting a lead this season than the Jets. Winnipeg is 29-0-3 when leading after one period and 41-0-1 when leading after two periods.
Getting off to good starts includes staying out of the penalty box. The Jets have been lethal on the power play this season, as their 28.9% success rate ranks first in the NHL. The Blues’ penalty kill ranks 27th in the league at 74.2%.
3) Win the battle of the goalies
It’s a fascinating battle between the pipes with the NHL’s best goalie against arguably its most clutch goalie.
Connor Hellebuyck had an incredible season for Winnipeg with a record of 47-12-3 with a 2.00 GAA and .925 save percentage. But his career playoff record is just 18-27, and in the biggest game he played this year, he and Team USA lost in overtime in the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off against Jordan Binnington and Team Canada.
Binnington is 20-20 in his postseason career with a 2.73 GAA, .910 save percentage, and of course a 2019 Stanley Cup ring. With the Blues having Stanley Cup champions as their goaltender, their captain (Brayden Schenn), and their leading point scorer (Robert Thomas), they have the championship mettle to pull the upset in this series.
My Leans For Game 1 And The Series
I may eat my words on this, but I was happy to see the Blues draw Winnipeg in the first round instead of Vegas. The Golden Knights have a lot of championship pedigree, so I’d rather face a team that may tighten up with all the pressure on them in the Jets.
For Game 1, I was looking forward to betting the under 5.5 in what should be a tightly contested series. But the books must be thinking the same thing as me because -142 is a ton of juice for the under. I would need -125 to pull the trigger and make it a bet; otherwise, under 5.5 is just a lean for me.
For the series, the Jets are the worthy favorites, but there’s no way I’m laying -190 on a team that has had nothing but postseason failure in recent years. The Blues are definitely a live dog here, as evidenced by the 11-10 scoreline over the four meetings this season.
Put it this way - if I was a neutral observer and had $100 to bet on either team to win the series, I think there is much more value betting the Blues for a chance at a $160 profit rather than only being able to profit $52 betting on the Jets.
Lean for Game 1: Under 5.5 at -142 on DraftKings (would be a bet at -125)
Lean for series: Blues to win series at +160 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the Sports Hub STL YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Picks = betting the game - minus odds betting to win 1 unit, plus odds risking 1 unit. Leans = no strong opinion, not betting the game. Disclaimer