Canucks vs Blues Game 1 Odds & Pick

• The St. Louis Blues play the Vancouver Canucks in Round 1 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs
• Game 1 of the best-of-seven series will be played on Wednesday, August 12 at 10:30 PM EST
• Read below for our game preview and best bet

The No. 5 Vancouver Canucks and No. 4 St. Louis Blues play Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday, August 12th at 10:30 PM EST. The Blues are listed as -150 favorites in the Canucks vs Blues odds.

The Canucks defeated the Minnesota Wild in the play-in round to qualify for the playoffs, while the Blues went 0-2-1 in the round-robin round to fall to the fourth seed.

Will the Blues bounce-back to beat Vancouver in Game 1? Should you bet on the Canucks as underdogs?

Canucks vs Blues Game 1 Odds

Odds as of August 10

Canucks Have Momentum 

The Canucks enter Round 1 of the playoffs with plenty of confidence and momentum after defeating the Minnesota Wild in four games in the qualifying round. Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson all scored multiple goals, while Quinn Hughes racked up a team-leading six points to lead Vancouver past Minnesota.

The Canucks lost Game 1 to the Wild but came back with three straight victories against a quality defensive team. This is the first playoff experience for many of Vancouver’s young players, so winning three straight games in the qualifying round is really going to help with confidence as they face a veteran Blues’ squad in Round 1.

A positive development for the Canucks is the play of their offense. They scored 12 goals over the last three games and already have eight players with multiple points. There isn’t much of a layoff between the qualifying round and Round 1, so momentum could be critical for the opening game of this series.

Round Robin Blues

The Blues entered the round-robin seeding round as the top seed in the Western Conference. They dropped down to fourth after going 0-2-1 against Colorado, Vegas and Dallas. They managed just six goals in total and took an undisciplined 17 penalties over the three games.

The Blues are being favored in this game (and series) due to their dominant regular season and recent playoff success. St. Louis was last place in the entire league in January 2019 but managed to sneak into the playoffs and win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. They went 1-1-1 against Vancouver in the 2019-2020 regular season but posted much better defensive stats overall.

Canucks vs Blues Season Stats

Goalie Jordan Binnington played a key role in the team’s playoff success last season, but he was burned for six goals in his two starts in the seeding round. Considering Canucks’ goalie Jacob Markstrom posted a better save percentage this season and recorded a shutout in one of the qualifying round games, this could be a fairly even goaltending matchup.

What’s the Best Bet? 

When it comes to Game 1 of this series, I think you have to ride the hot hand. The Canucks looked terrific in the qualifying round, while the Blues didn’t look anything like their usual dominant selves in the round robin. Vancouver being listed at plus-money is the icing on the cake.

J.T. Miller set the tone early last night with his starting lineup read… 🔥 pic.twitter.com/vsfpPg7CrE

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) August 8, 2020

St. Louis could very well return to form at some point in these playoffs, but I don’t see it happening right off the bat against a hot Canucks squad. This Vancouver offense is buzzing and has already proven they can score against this stout St. Louis defense. Ride the momentum and take Vancouver in Game 1.

Pick: Vancouver Canucks ML (+130)