The St. Louis Blues had to know that Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Dallas Stars was going to be tough when Brian Elliott took a delay of game penalty less than a minute into the proceedings. They didn't allow a goal on that power play, but they never really got their acts together in a 2-1 loss.
Now, in order to avoid falling into an 0-2 series hole, the Blues must rebound on Sunday afternoon in "Big D."
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Stars were only -113 favorites on Friday night for Game 1 of this series, but for our money, they looked the part of the better of the two teams by a reasonable margin.
However, most are going to expect to see a better version of the Blues on the ice on Sunday afternoon, especially after the way they handled adversity against the defending Stanley Cup champs. This game should end up being lined right around a pick 'em, while that total of a flat 5 should once again hold tight.
GOALIE REPORT
What really surprised us was the breakneck pace of Game 1. There were 74 shots on goal for the game, and that's going to get St. Louis in a lot of trouble.
To his credit, Elliott – delay of game penalty aside – played a really darn good game. He allowed just two goals on 42 shots in what amounted to be one of the toughest games he's had in the postseason.
Kari Lehtonen, who seems to have firmly taken this job over once again after sitting behind Antti Niemi for a couple games, allowed just one goal on 32 shots in Game 1.
LIVE BETTING
We mentioned the pace of play already once, but we're going to go a little deeper here.
It's not really the top lines which got all of the shots off. Sure, Jamie Benn looked dangerous in spite of the fact that he didn't log a single point, while Patrick Sharp could've had a couple goals on his ledger as well with better finishing, but it was the line with Ales Hemsky, Antoine Roussel and Raden Faksa which really made the big difference.
These three men not only accounted for all of the goals and all of the assists by the forwards in Game 1, but they also combined to take 10 shots on goal. If Dallas' third line is mustering that much offense, the Blues are in a heck of a lot of trouble.
QUICK PICK
Though we do believe the Blues can still win this NHL series, we think they're going to get themselves into some more trouble here.
Had the first game been played to a significantly slower pace, we'd maybe feel a little different about St. Louis' chances. That said, until we see this series slow down to a snail's pace, we aren't giving the Blues a shot.
It's really tough to play hockey here in Dallas, a place where the Stars have won nine of their last 10 games dating back to the regular season. St. Louis might've finished off Chicago, but let's not forget that it has lost three of its last four as well.
And you're going to give us the Stars at basically a pick 'em? Yes please.
NHL Odds: Stars 4, Blues 2
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