St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Series Preview: Division rivals set for extended series

The Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues will start their best-of-seven series on Monday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The Wild come into the series setting the world on fire. They wrapped up their regular season schedule on Friday with a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. This saw the Wild claim their 10th victory in the final 12 games of the regular season.

The Blues enter on a losing streak that is not reflective of the way they played during the final month of the regular season. In April, St. Louis went 12-2-2 and, at one point, had a 9 game win streak.

The hype for this series is off the charts. It is expected to produce at least 4, but probably more, exciting and entertaining hockey games.

The odds reflect the hype as well. Neither team stands out as the overwhelming favorite prior to the start of the series. The teams come in separated by less than 100 points on the moneyline.

Minnesota Wild (Central Division #2) vs. St. Louis Blues (Central Division #3) Series Information and Betting Odds

Wild vs. Blues Series Schedule, Game Times, and TV Info

• Wild vs. Blues (Game 1 – at Xcel Energy Center, Minnesota): Monday, May 2, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
• Wild vs. Blues (Game 2 – at Xcel Energy Center, Minnesota): Wednesday, May 4, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
• Blues vs. Wild (Game 3 – at Enterprise Center, St. Louis): Friday, May 6, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
• Blues vs. Wild (Game 4 – at Enterprise Center, St. Louis): Sunday, May 8, 4:30 p.m. ET, TBS
• Wild vs. Blues (Game 5 – at Xcel Energy Center, Minnesota): Tuesday, May 10, time and TV TBD – if necessary
• Blues vs. Wild (Game 6 – at Enterprise Center, St. Louis): Thursday, May 12, time and TV TBD – if necessary
• Wild vs. Blues (Game 7 – Xcel Energy Center, Minnesota): Saturday, May 14, time and TV TBD – if necessary

St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild Round 1 Betting Odds

Odds are via BetOnline.

Odds to win the Series

• Blues +115
• Wild -138

Series Correct Score Odds

• Wild 4-0 (+1120)
• Wild 4-1 (+490)
• Wild 4-2 (+490)
• Wild 4-3 (+420)
• Blues 4-0 (+1260)
• Blues 4-1 (+760)
• Blues 4-2 (+490)
• Blues 4-3 (+540)

Series Total Games Odds

• Four Games: +580
• Five Games: +260
• Six Games: +198
• Seven Games: +198

Wild vs. Blues 2021-22 Season Head-to-Head Results

• January 1, 2022 (at Minnesota): Blues 6, Wild 4
• April 8, 2022 (at St. Louis): Blues 4, Wild 3 (OT)
• April 16, 2022 (at St. Louis): Blues 6, Wild 5 (OT)

Is a Game 7 Too Much to Ask For?

The Blues have won all 3 of their meetings against the Wild this season. The last two games have required overtime to settle the winner.

Both teams come into the playoffs with momentum and something to prove. For the Wild, they want to prove the haters wrong. Minnesota was not expected to make a deep run this season, let alone finish with the second best record in the Western Conference.

The Blues want to make it known that they have what it takes to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final like they did in 2019. They have gone 17-6-3 against Central Division competition and are playing well at home, posting 26 wins in 41 games.

Minnesota is also one of the best teams at home. They have only lost 10 games at Xcel Energy Center this year and are scaring off their competitors.

With both teams on hot streaks, and the fact that both teams get a chance to host the other, I see a high possibility that the series will go the distance. Out of all the first round matchups, this is the only one without a clear favorite heading into the playoffs.

Is it too much to ask for this series to go 7 games? With all of the statistics and recent results, we will see at least 6 games and plenty of overtime results. The Wild are hopeful that their struggles against the Blues this season were purely temporary and that their strong play at home can propel them to the next round.

For St. Louis, they will look to steal wins away from the Wild and use their strong power play to set the tone for how this series will play out.

Blues vs Wild Series Prediction and Betting Tips

Prediction: Wild win the series 4-3

The Wild have home ice advantage in Round 1, and their strong play at home will help them silence the Blues’ offensive attack. The crowds will be loud, the goals will be plenty, and we should see a blockbuster of a series that will go down to the wire.

The best bets here will be to take the Wild on the moneyline due to their home ice advantage. They are -138 at BetOnline and -160 at Bovada Sportsbook.

Another option in this series is total games. I expect at least 6 games but there is a high possibility that we will see 7. With the lines both showing +198 at BetOnline I would suggest taking this one at 7 games as the competition is set to be evenly matched.

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