Stars Given -290 Odds to Advance to Western Conference Final After Beating Blues in Game 5

• The Dallas Stars are given -290 odds of eliminating the St. Louis Blues and advancing to the Stanley Cup final four
• Dallas leads St. Louis 3-2 after a solid 2-1 win in Game 5
• The Stars haven’t advanced to the Western Conference final since 2008

One round after turning the Nashville Predators into the prey, the Dallas Stars are giving St. Louis the Blues. Dallas posted a 2-1 victory Friday at St. Louis in Game 5 of their Western Conference semfinal series. It’s the first time the Stars have taken a lead in the set.

Ben Bishop made 38 saves as the @DallasStars won Game 5 and took a 3-2 lead in their Second Round series. #NHLStats #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/08ma8S0Uae

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 4, 2019

A win Sunday on home ice at the American Airlines Center will capture the series for Dallas. Sportsbooks certainly are confident that the Stars are moving on in this set, establishing Dallas as the odds-on -290 chalk to take out the Blues.

Dallas Stars vs St. Louis Blues Playoff Series Odds

*Odds taken on 05/04/19

Entering Game 4, even though they were coming off a 4-2 loss, the Blues were still listed as the -145 choice to emerge victorious against Dallas. Today, the Stars are given the best odds of moving on among the six teams still battling in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Headed for a Blues Sunday?

This is a familiar script for Dallas. In the opening round against Nashville, the Stars fell behind 2-1. They turned in their best performance of the series at home in Game 4, a resounding 5-1 triumph. Dallas won three straight and took the series in six games.

Getting it done on the road 💪 #GoStars | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/as9jIdjWeE

— z – Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) May 4, 2019

St. Louis also raced to a 2-1 lead in this series. Dallas turned in a stellar 4-2 victory in Game 4, handing the Blues their first road loss of the playoffs.

Play the Stars to complete the routine with a win on home ice Sunday.

The Bishop of Dallas

Goaltending was a sore spot for the Stars for many seasons but Ben Bishop has solved that problem. A Vezina Trophy finalist, at 6’6″ he looms large in the net. But it’s not merely Bishop’s size that measures up. In Game 5, he made 38 saves.

Most saves in a regulation #StanleyCup Playoffs game, @DallasStars history (since 1993-94):

38 – Ed Belfour (Game 3 of 2000 CF)
38 – Ed Belfour (Game 4 of 2000 CF)
38 – Marty Turco (Game 5 of 2008 CF)
38 – @Benbishop30 (Game 5 of 2019 R2)#NHLStats pic.twitter.com/yPINzmAPvl

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 4, 2019

With a chance to close out Nashville, Bishop also came up big, blocking 47 shots in an overtime win that eliminated the Predators.

During the regular season, Bishop finished first in the NHL with a franchise-record .934 save percentage. He ranked second in the league in goals-against average (1.98) and third in shutouts (seven). All were new career highs.

Numbers Adding Up

This is the 14th playoff series between the Blues and Stars. It’s the ninth time the set has gone at least five games and in seven of those nine series, the Game 5 winner won the series.

When a best-of-seven series is tied 2-2, the @DallasStars own an all-time series record of 10-1 when winning Game 5 (90.9%). #NHLStats #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/dIQMsoqpCI

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 4, 2019

In their playoff history, the Stars are 10-1 in series in which they were tied 2-2 and they’ve won Game 5. Then again, the only team to beat the Stars in this scenario was the Blues during the 1972 quarterfinals.

The @DallasStars franchise moved within one win of reaching the Conference Finals for the seventh time since the round was introduced in 1982 (also 1984, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2008). #NHLStats #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/E6Z89d35Bz

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 4, 2019

That shouldn’t happen here. Dallas is the team that’s picking up steam. St. Louis looks to be running out of gas.

Bet the Stars to close it out in six.

Pick: Dallas Stars (-290)