Written by Graeme & Scott on Wednesday, May 22nd, 2019
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The 2018/2019 Stanley Cup Final is set.
The Boston Bruins will take on the St. Louis Blues. The Boston Bruins have home ice advantage and it all kicks off on Monday, May 27th at 8pm EST.
Game 2 is on the Wednesday, Game 3 the Saturday (the 1st) then Game 4 on Monday (the 3rd).
If we need them, we’ve got Game 5 on the 6th, Game 6th on the 9th and Game 7 on the 12th.
Boy we hope we get a Game 7. Nothing quite like it.
We’re both conflicted in regard to who we think should win. Our joint opinion is “We like the Bruins the most, but the odds don’t make it worth a bet”. So it makes for an interesting one, where the value is probably on the Blues. However while we don’t advocate betting below 1.70….it’s the Stanley Cup Finals. So if you want the Bruins to win or think they’ll win, suck it up and make that -EV bet.
No point cheering on a team you don’t want/think will win simply for value at this stage of the game.
For this one Scott till take the Bruins and Graeme the Blues.
Why the Bruins Will Win The Cup:
Scott: Its been 49 years since the Blues were in the finals and that was against the Bruins in 1970. That series provided one of the most iconic images in all of sports history with Bobby Orr flying through the air after scoring the game, and series winning, goal in overtime of game 4.
These teams play a similar style of game so expect and nice physical battle here. The Blues were in last place on January 3rd and now find themselves in the finals for the first time in half of a century. That alone is an amazing accomplishment.
The Bruins have had plenty of time off to rest. The havent played since May 16th and the extra rest is going to help them.
To get here they had to beat the Leafs in 7 games, the Jackets in 6 and the Hurricanes in a 4 game sweep. Rask has been amazing and he will need that to continue against a strong Blues team who are playing amazing right now.
The Bruins have home ice advantage for the finals and they were incredible in Boston during the regular season going 29-9-3. The Bruins play great at home and have more playoff experience so I’m going with them to win the series and I’d advise with the odds to bet Bruins -1.5.
Everyone Else: Best Odds for Bruins to win the series are 1.65 at Casumo plus the deposit bonus. Good place to bet the Bruins if you haven’t signed up there yet.
Why the Blues Will Win the Cup:
Graeme: The Blues have been quite simply incredible. They’ve been the underdog in every round yet able to prevail each time. And they’ve managed to do that in convincing fashion with little controversy. I mean maybe the Game 7 against the Stars was tight – but that was more due to Bishop than anything else.
It’s amazing to see it as the Blues weren’t even heavily favoured to win their Division(9.00 odds) let alone win the cup yet here they are.
One big thing going for the Bruins at the moment is Rask. He’s been a huge factor for the Bruins. However we’ve seen him fizzle out before. And we’ve seen goalies put in the performances until they get to the final then fail.
A lot of that Hurricanes series just felt like a combination of the right players heating up at the right time, plus lacklustre performances from the Hurricanes. Bruins need to keep the heat going.
Binnington doesn’t look incredible when you look at the stats, but when you look at the key games this boy steps up. When he is needed to, he is insanely hard to beat and this is where the Blues need to count on him most. Blues have a lot of talent and how about Jaden Schwartz? Dude is insane right now.
If you’re betting on the Blues though, it’s a gamble. Their offense overall is weak and going against a hot Rask. So you’re gambling that the offense is able to do the job or Rask crumbles. Honestly that’s one of the key things to this series. I think it’s safe to say that there’s more confidence in the Bruins getting past Binnington, than there is the opposite.
The Sharks also had the injury issues. So there’s that. The Karlsson stuff coming out after the series was over just adds to it.
It’s a tricky one. I believe the Blues are slightly overvalued however they do deserve to be favourites. If you’re taking the Blues it’s more of a gamble….but then you’re also getting value in my opinion.
Everyone Else: Best Odds for Blues to win the series are 2.45 at Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv.
Who are you backing to win the cup? Or what bets are you making? Post about it in the comments.
