NHL playoffs picks, odds, how to watch info for Blues at Jets, Stars at Avalanche on Saturday
The Stanley Cup Playoffs start on Saturday with the St. Louis Blues visiting the Winnipeg Jets and the Dallas Stars hosting the favored Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche enter the playoffs as the favorites to win the Cup at +700, while the Stars are tied for fourth in the odds at +850 (with the Vegas Golden Knights). These four teams have a lot of stars among them, from the Jets' Connor Hellebuyck and the Blues' Robert Thomas to Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar on the Avs and Dallas' trade-deadline addition Mikko Rantanen. This should be fun.
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Series odds: Jets -220, Blues +180
This is a series between the Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets and one of the hottest teams in the league.
The Jets don't always get the respect they deserve, and past playoff demons have something to do with that. Against Colorado in Round 1 last year, their defense absolutely collapsed, and Hellebuyck turned into a pumpkin. Since then, this team has put in a ton of work to better position itself for a deep run.
The Jets are a defensive powerhouse this season, which has given Hellebuyck more support than in years past and lightened his load. He hasn't had to face as many high-danger chances this season, but his fatigue level is still worth keeping an eye on after starting 75 percent of the Jets' regular-season games.
Winnipeg faces one other question in this series: Where will the scoring come from, especially if Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele get shut down by the Blues' best? The Nikolaj Ehlers injury strains Winnipeg's top-six, but Gabriel Vilardi's return will help.
The Blues' defense was a glaring weakness last year and in the early goings of this season. But a coaching change, plus the return of Robert Thomas, turned this season around. St. Louis has completely transformed its game on both ends of the ice; the Blues are one of the best at suppressing slot shots and containing opponents off the rush. Colton Parayko's glow-up back into a No. 1 defenseman has contributed to that, along with Philip Broberg's growth. Up front, Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich drive play against top competition.
The big question revolves around a second-line injury in St. Louis — the team may be without Dylan Holloway, who has emerged into a real two-way threat for the Blues, for the entire series. Will this team have the goal support to get past the Jets' stout backend?
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Series odds: Avalanche -160, Stars +135
This is the matchup many have been waiting for — a showdown between two of the best in the West. It's a rematch of last year's Round 2 Central Division series, where the Stars won in double overtime. This time, the Avalanche could have the edge to get revenge.
MacKinnon and Makar are an absolute force together. And after a number of in-season trades, the Avs' best have a lot more support around them. Up front, Martin Necas adds another element of speed to the top-six. Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle solidify the Avs' center depth. After almost three years of working his way back from injury, the captain, Gabriel Landeskog, is nearing a return to NHL action. Pair that deep forward group with a defense that has reinforcements from Ryan Lindgren and Erik Johnson, and a completely overhauled crease, and there is a lot to like about the Avalanche.
The Stars were a Stanley Cup favorite when the season started, but the addition of Rantanen solidified that standing. Dallas has one of the deepest forward groups in the league, but navigating the injury situation will not be easy. The Stars were struggling enough without Miro Heiskanen on the back end. He may not be the flashiest defenseman, but he stabilizes play on both ends of the ice in tough minutes.
While Thomas Harley has stepped up since his injury, playing Cody Ceci and Ilya Lyubushkin in meaningful minutes has held this team back. The Stars' five-on-five game has been suspect since the 4 Nations Face-Off, but the team collected wins despite what was going on under the hood, until the stretch run, when the team went 0-5-2 in its last seven. Add in the Jason Robertson injury, and this team's chances of advancing to Round 2 have taken a real hit.
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(Photo of Connor Hellebuyck and Colin Miller: Cameron Bartlett / Getty Images)
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