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The St. Louis Blues continued their dominance at home with back-to-back wins to even up their best-of-seven series against the Winnipeg Jets.
St. Louis torched Winnipeg by a combined score of 12-3 across the two games in Missouri.
The biggest concern for Winnipeg is that Connor Hellebuyck was pulled for the second straight game. Hellebuyck has given up 15 goals on 81 shots in the series for a .817 save percentage.
The Jets and Hellebuyck will look to turn things around in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Winnipeg is a -180 favorite at the time of writing.
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Blues vs. Jets Game 5 betting preview
A playoff series rarely goes exactly to plan, but you’d likely be lying if you said that you saw the first four games following this script, especially after Winnipeg staked itself to a 2-0 lead.
A pushback from St. Louis was to be expected, but to see the Jets completely unravel has been startling. It’s even more shocking that Hellebuyck, who has had to deal with his fair share of playoff demons, has struggled to this extent.
Hellebuyck’s poor play through four games is getting the headlines, but the other major red flag for Winnipeg is its lack of secondary scoring.
The St. Louis Blues scored 12 goals in Games 3 and 4. Getty ImagesOnly Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor have scored more than one goal for the Jets, and they’re also the only players on the roster with more than two points. Winnipeg is averaging 2.50 goals per game.
Part of Winnipeg’s scoring woes can be chalked up to injuries to top-six wingers Gabriel Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers, but that excuse only goes so far. Vilardi may return to the lineup for Wednesday’s Game 5, but his presence alone won’t fix this issue.
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Blues vs. Jets Game 5 pick
After surrendering 12 goals in their last two games, you’d have to imagine that the Jets will come into Game 5 looking to tidy things up defensively. Not only to stop the bleeding, but also to give Hellebuyck the best possible opportunity to get his mojo back.
With that in mind, don’t be shocked if both teams treat the first period like a road game and try to take the sting out of the contest.
That should lead to a cagey, low-event start to Game 5, which puts value on the first period ending 0-0.
The Play: 1P Under 0.5 Goals (+290)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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