The Dallas Stars might've won the Central Division this year and posted the best record in the Western Conference, but they never really felt like they were given much of a shot of beating the St. Louis Blues in this series.
They went on the road and took care of business against all odds in Game 6 to earn a Game 7 at home.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
This game will probably be lined right around a dead pick 'em. St. Louis was -161 to finish off this series on Monday night, but failed to do so. Now, after being short underdogs of +102, +104 and +101 in the three games played in "Big D," we think this will be the game where both teams have minus odds.
Over bettors have had a field day in this series. The last three games have all ended on exactly five goals, but the previous two before it were both good for seven goals. The only under game between these two was the 2-1 Dallas victory in the series opener.
GOALIE REPORT
Kari Lehtonen has kept his job over the course of the last few games, and he's paying dividends. Clearly, he's got the better stats of the two goalies in these playoffs. Lehtonen has a 2.58 GAA and a .908 save percentage. The numbers aren't remarkable though, and the vet hasn't really had that one fantastic game in this series that he might need to have to win this game.
Brian Elliott was yanked for the first time in Game 6, but we aren't concerned about him in spite of his three goals allowed relatively early. Jake Allen was great replacing him, but there's no doubt that Ken Hitchcock's net belongs to Elliott at this point.
Bad games happen all the time for even the best net minders, but it's how they bounce back that determines their place in history. This is the chance for Elliott to erase a career's worth of bad playoff showings.
LIVE BETTING
Dallas has to be super careful not to get conservative in this game. The team averaged 32.0 shots per game in the regular season, but over the course of the last five duels, there hasn't been a game with even 30 shots on net.
Pace of play is going to be crucial. The Stars want to fly up and down the ice, but for the most part, they've had to play at the tempo of the Blues. They made it work in Game 6 when they managed a total of just 14 shots on net, but that won't cut it in Game 7.
QUICK PICK
A couple weeks ago, no one thought the Blues had much of a chance in Game 7 at home against the Blackhawks. They're going to be given a significantly greater chance of winning this game, but it's easy to see how they might end up falling flat.
The Stars were just so good at home this year, and even though they don't have one of their best players in Tyler Seguin, they've finally really started to get some consistent offense going. If that continues, they've got a real chance in this one.
Dallas won the Central for a reason this year, and it'll flex its muscle one more time at home to cap off a fantastic series.
NHL Odds: Stars 2, Blues 1
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