NHL Betting: Blues vs Avalanche & Golden Knights vs Stars – 04/26/22

This betting guide will offer some value in figuring out the top wagers in two of the day’s top games. The St. Louis Blues travel to take on the Colorado Avalanche in the last regular-season meeting between two teams that could very well face each other down the road in the playoffs. The Vegas Golden Knights look to keep their slim playoff hopes alive against the Dallas Stars, who can clinch a playoff spot with a win.

St. Louis Blues (+135) vs Colorado Avalanche (-165)

STL: 49-20-11, 3.78 GF/GP, 2.84 GA/GP, L10: 9-0-1

COL: 55-18-6, 3.77 GF/GP, 2.80 GA/GP, L10: 6-4-0

These teams have played twice this season, but both games were a million years ago back in October. They split the games, with the road team winning on the other team’s rink. This one takes place in Colorado, where the Avalanche are 31-5-3. However, the Blues have the fifth-best road record in the NHL at 23-11-6. The road team has won the last four meetings in this series.

Brayden Schenn St. Louis Blues
Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

The Avalanche are struggling. Colorado has lost four in a row – its longest losing streak of the season. Even worse is that they’re struggling to score, something almost nobody thought would happen to this high-powered offense. The Avs have managed just eight goals during the four-game skid, and it doesn’t help that they’ve been without top goal scorer Mikko Rantanen – who might miss Tuesday’s game, as well.

St. Louis doesn’t have any such problems. The Blues have been rocking, winning 12 of their last 13 (the one loss was in overtime to the Minnesota Wild) while outscoring their opponents 65-33 during that stretch. St. Louis has won its last seven road games, and the over has hit or tied the number in 11 of the Blues’ last 12 road games. As tough as Colorado has been at home, St. Louis is on fire right now. The best value is playing the Blues money line (+135), and leaning toward the over (O6.5, -110).

Vegas Golden Knights (-105) vs Dallas Stars (-115)

VGK: 42-31-6, 3.16 GF/GP, 2.97 GA/GP, L10: 5-3-2

DAL: 44-30-5, 2.84 GF/GP, 2.99 GA/GP, L10: 4-4-2

The Golden Knights visit Dallas with their playoff lives at stake. Historically, this series has been ridiculously tight. The last five games have all been decided by one goal, and three of those were decided in overtime. Vegas has won both games this season, but they haven’t played since Dec. 8. The Golden Knights are still alive, but they haven’t been good lately as their only win in the last four games was an overtime victory over the Washington Capitals on April 20.

Jake Oettinger Dallas Stars
Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The Stars have also been struggling, winning just two of their last five – and those two wins were against the Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks. All three of those losses during that stretch were on the road, however. The biggest concern is the scoring, as the Stars have scored more than two goals just once in their last seven games.

It’s going to be a grinder, but I like this spot for the Stars at home. Dallas is 4-1-2 in their last six home games, and they’re used to these tight contests. Five of the last seven games between these two teams have gone under, and the under has also hit in Dallas’ last five home games. Stick to Dallas (-115) as a slight favorite, and take the under (U5.5, -105) in what should be a very tight game.

Odds via Yahoo and BetMGM

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