NHL Hockey Betting: St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars

Two Game 7’s in the Western Conference Semifinals. On Thursday night, the San Jose Sharks host the Nashville Predators in Game 7 but first the St. Louis Blues try to redeem themselves for a shabby performance on home ice last time out. They had a chance to eliminate the Dallas Stars on home ice but couldn’t get the job done. Brian Elliott had the worst period he’s played in months giving up 3 goals on 7 shots and giving the Stars a 3-0 lead at the end of one. He was done for the night and Jake Allen kept the Stars off the board the rest of the way. Allen got a lot of help since his teammates played like crazed wolverines the rest of the way and held Dallas to just 7 shots on goal in the final two periods. It wasn’t enough, however, as Dallas held on for a 3-2 win and set up this decisive Game Seven on home ice.

Elliott’s performance was likely a long time coming. Throughout the Chicago series and a couple of time in this series his teammates hung Elliott out to dry allowing 30 or 40 shots and leaving the goalie to bail them out. Dallas won Game One 2-1 but Elliott gave his teammates a chance to win by stopping 40 of 42 shots on goal. Last night was the first sign of weakness and it could be that he’s starting to wear down. He’s never been in a situation where he plays every night for months and that’s exactly what he’s done. Jake Allen might be the better option here–he’s rested and a very competent goalie in his own right. Tough decision for Ken Hitchcock to make.

Dallas will likely go with Kari Lehtonen after he turned in a solid performance keeping his team ahead after his teammates left him with a 3-0 lead and basically took the night off. St. Louis would outshoot Dallas 37-14 for the game but Lehtonen’s 35 saves made the difference. The goaltending matchup is interesting but everything else suggests that St. Louis is the better team. They’ve already survived one Game Seven against a battle tested veteran team. Dallas might not have the mental toughness the Blues do. They certainly don’t have the defense or physicality.

BET ST. LOUIS BLUES -110 OVER DALLAS STARS