The Western Conference round-robin tournament in the Stanley Cup Playoffs gets underway when the St. Louis Blues play the Colorado Avalanche.
In these odd times, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are even more chaotic than usual. This year, the top four teams in each conference skip the play-in round and go straight to a round-robin tournament to determine the seeding in each conference. Out west, the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche will get it started at 6:30 p.m. EST.
This game will be held in Edmonton, just like all of the play-in round games of the Western Conference. It will also feature two divisional rivals who finished first and second respectively in the conference.
ODDS
According to Odds Shark, here are the odds for today’s game.
- STL: -105
- COL: -115
- Over-under: 5.5 goals
Here are their Stanley Cup odds.
- COL: +700
- STL: +1100
ST. LOUIS BLUES
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The St. Louis Blues didn’t look good in their exhibition game against the Chicago Blackhawks, but it’s hard not to like their chances of winning the Stanley Cup for the second straight season. Even without Vladimir Tarasenko for most of this season, they finished with the top record in the Western Conference.
They are a very well-balanced team, especially with Tarasenko back in the mix. Defensively, Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko do most of the heavy lifting. In goal, the Blues are expected to turn to Jordan Binnington, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
COLORADO AVALANCHE
On the other side of the ice, the Colorado Avalanche won their exhibition game against the Minnesota Wild. They’re fully healthy for the first time in a while and much like the Blues, they’re a pretty well-balanced team.
Obviously, Hart Trophy finalist Nathan MacKinnon is the guy everyone talks about. And everyone knows who Cale Makar, a Calder Trophy finalist, is. But the Avalanche also have guys like Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, and Andre Burakovsky, as well as Nazem Kadri.
In goal, it’s not confirmed yet, but I’d be surprised if they don’t go with Philip Grubauer.
Live Stream Information
Date: Sunday, August 2
Start Time: 6:30 PM EST
Venue: Rogers Place
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
TV Channel: NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN360, TVAS2, ALT, FS-MW
Live Stream: Fubo.tv (subscription required but you get a free trial), r/NHL Streams, NHL.TV (subscription required), NBCSN
The game starts at 6:30 p.m. EST.