St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild Game 5 Preview/Prop Picks

There are four Stanley Cup Playoff games on the schedule on Tuesday night, including a big game in Minnesota. The Minnesota Wild host the St. Louis Blues, and the winner will take an important 3-2 series lead.

St. Louis came into this series as the underdog, despite being a recent Stanley Cup champion. The Blues were able to win at home in Game 4 to even things up and send it to Minnesota.

The Wild are a team that should be good for the next several seasons as they have a young nucleus of top talent. Minnesota racked up 113 points in the regular season, but they can’t afford to drop another game at home.

The Minnesota Wild are the moneyline betting favorites at -143 for this Game 5 matchup against the St. Louis Blues. 

St. Louis Must Get Stops

The St. Louis Blues have a bit of a goaltending issue, but you should expect to see Jordan Binnington in net for Game 5. Binnington made 28 saves in the Game 4 win, which was his first start in the postseason. 

St. Louis scored on the power play 27 percent of the time in the regular season, and that unit is capable of sparking the team. The Blues are comfortable playing fast, but they also need to be willing to be physical and make those winning plays.

Jordan Kyrou and David Perron both had two goals on Sunday, and they will have to play well in this game also. St. Louis can be a dangerous team, and they now have plenty of momentum.

Wild Winning With Offense

The best teams in the NHL don’t change their style of play in the postseason, and that has been the case with the Wild up to this point. Minnesota has scored 13 goals so far in the playoffs, but they have also allowed 12 goals. 

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been inconsistent so far against the Blues, and Minnesota needs a great effort from the veteran. Minnesota allowed a power play goal in the Game 4 loss, and that unit will have to shine in this game.

Kirill Kaprizov already has a hat trick in this series, and he continues to torment the Blues. Minnesota will want to speed up the tempo on Tuesday night in an effort to wear down St. Louis. 

Wild Win a Thriller

Every game in this series has been decided by at least three goals, but that won’t be the case in Game 5. Both teams will be desperate to take a 3-2 series lead on Tuesday night, and that should create an extremely competitive atmosphere. 

St. Louis did little wrong in the Game 4 win, but the Wild have been able to exploit some weaknesses throughout this series. The Blues just don’t have the defense capable of slowing down the Wild, and that’s going to come into play in this game. 

The Wild will be playing in front of a raucous home crowd, and that environment is going to give them a slight edge. Take the Minnesota Wild -143 as they win on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 series lead.

Prop Picks

St. Louis (+190) UNDER 2.5 Goals

Minnesota is allowing 3.0 goals per game on defense, which ranks No. 16 in the league, while holding teams to 31.4 shots per game, which ranks No. 15. Scores have gone UNDER in four of the Wild’s last six games overall.

With Dunkel predicting a Minnesota victory by the score of 3-2, take the Blues (+190) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 2.5 goals against the Wild.

Brandon Saad (-155) UNDER 0.5 Points

Saad had 49 points in 78 games during the regular season, which ranked No. 9 on the Blues, and has only 1 point in 4 games during the postseason, which is tied for No. 10 on the Blues. The veteran left wing has been held without a point in each of the last three games versus Minnesota.

With Dunkel predicting a Wild win with the final score staying UNDER the Vegas total, take Saad (-155) to finish UNDER 0.5 points against Minnesota.

Keep up with your latest NHL news coverage and betting pick previews at The Dunkel Index.