With the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs reaching a crescendo, there are plenty of betting opportunities for Game 7. Our experts -- Chris Peters and Greg Wyshynski -- are here to provide their best bets for the final game of the season.
All odds courtesy of Caesars.
Wednesday's Game 7
St. Louis Blues (+150) at Boston Bruins (-165)
Game 7 puck line odds: Blues +1.5 (-200), Bruins -1.5 (+175)
Game 7 over/under: 5.5 goals
Wyshynski: I've been steadfast in my belief that this is how it has to play out for the Blues win in the Stanley Cup -- after a loss, a situation in which Jordan Binnington is 7-2 with a 1.86 goals-against average in the playoffs, and on the road, where the St. Louis Blues are 9-3 in the playoffs and average 2.40 goals-against, the same as the Bruins do at home. Their two blowout losses in critical games happened because they were at home, things went sideways in the first dozen minutes and they lost the crowd and then their wits. Their two wins in Boston happened because they played well on the forecheck, didn't make fundamental mistakes with the puck and kept the scored low. So, to that end, I'll take the Blues to beat the Bruins (+150) on the moneyline and the game to go under 5.5 goals (-160).
Pick: Blues and the under
Peters: I feel a little differently than Greg does, even knowing how good the Blues have been in bounce-back scenarios and on the road this postseason. I thought if they wanted to win the Cup, it had to be in Game 6 because once the Cup was in the Bruins' sights, that was going to be it. Unbeaten in close-out games this postseason, Boston is a team that has the killer instinct. It also has a goaltender who is lights-out in close-out situations. The Bruins have allowed just one goal in each of their three previous opportunities to clinch a series. Tuukka Rask has a .992 save percentage on 96 shots in those games. With the Bruins closer to health and some of their Game 6 roster moves working out particularly well, I think they take the series on home ice.
Picks: Bruins and the under
Stanley Cup Final series picks
Wyshynski: It's almost charming that after one of the most unpredictable Stanley Cup playoffs in recent memory, the championship round pits the two teams playing the best hockey in the postseason against each other. No Cinderellas. No juggernauts. Just good regular-season teams that are rolling at the right time. What's fun about this series is how similar these teams have looked in the past couple of rounds: rolling four lines, getting exemplary goaltending, winning the special-teams battles and paying the physical toll. That said, I like the Blues (+145) to win the series in six games. Boston has home ice, but the Blues have won two of their three series without it, going 7-2 with a plus-9 goal differential. They're peaking at the right time.
Peters: There are some valid concerns about the Bruins having an 11-day layoff, but their seven-game winning streak heading into the break is far more telling about their play. Should Boston come out flat against the Blues early in Game 1, it would matter a little bit, as it makes that game harder to win. But there hasn't been an instance in this postseason when the Blues looked totally vulnerable. They're healthy and locked in. That's especially true of goaltender Tuukka Rask, whom I view as the X factor in the series. As good of a story as Jordan Binnington has been, Rask has been the better and more consistent goaltender this postseason and has played in a Stanley Cup Final before. I think the Blues will give Boston absolutely everything they have, as they're coming in hot too. But I think experience matters, and the Bruins have a lot of it. Bruins in seven.
Kaplan: I like the Bruins in seven, and I think this one will be a slugfest. A good power play isn't essential for a Stanley Cup run (Boston's PP actually wasn't very good in the 2011 playoffs), but let's note that Boston's man-advantage unit is going at a historic pace. Rask has been unbelievable, and yes, the 11 days between games might affect him most, but I can't imagine that the veteran will be fazed by it. While both teams have all four lines clicking, Boston's top line is more dangerous and has the capacity to steal games single-handedly.