Boston Bruins v St Louis Blues: Stanley Cup finals betting preview, tips and TV

Game one
Premier Sports 1, 1am Monday night

St Louis Blues travel to Boston to begin their first Stanley Cup finals series since they were beaten 4-0 by the Bruins in 1970.

Much has changed since then - and for the Blues a lot has changed this season.

In December they were rooted to the foot of the standings, but a change of coach and the emergence of star rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington have helped St Louis become genuine contenders to win their first cup in franchise history.

Boston will have begun the playoffs not expecting to get this far. A tough first-round encounter with fierce rivals Toronto seemed likely to be followed by series against Tampa Bay and Washington - rivals they have struggled against in recent years.

However, a string of first-round upsets saw all four division top seeds eliminated and opened the door for the Bruins. It was an opportunity they didn't pass up.

After grinding out a seven-game series victory over Toronto - a series they never led until the decisive game - Boston have gone from strength to strength.

Goaltender Tuukka Rask has been in spectacular form and is odds-on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player to his team.

The Bruins' dynamic top forward line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, who all broke the 30-goal mark in the regular season - have led the way in scoring for the team in the playoffs.

But even when opponents have found a way to neutralise that trio, secondary scoring has been there for them, while St Louis have relied more disproportionately on the likes of 12-goal Jaden Schwartz.

After outclassing Carolina in the Conference finals, Boston have not been in competitive action since May 17 - a five-day longer absence than the Blues have had.

While that will have helped their tired muscles after a gruelling season, it will also challenge their focus - particularly that of Rask.

While that could leave Boston vulnerable early in the series - despite having home advantage for the first two games - the Bruins look the better team and have already twice overturned series deficits in the playoffs.

Backing them to come from behind and lift their first cup since 2011 looks a value bet.

St Louis' gameplan is likely to be focused on shutting down Boston's top line, but that could leave them open to the Bruins' secondary forwards and Jake Debrusk looks value to be the series' top goalscorer.

Twenty-two year-old Debrusk has potted three goals in the playoffs, but his tally of 50 shots on target is considerably higher than any other player outside Boston's big three.

A low shooting percentage is generally seen as bad luck rather than weak shooting at this level, and the streaky Debrusk could easily explode in the finals.

St Louis' Schwartz - who has two hat-tricks in the playoffs - and the speedy Vladimir Tarasenko will be the key men Boston will want to shut down.

Recommendations
Boston to win series from behind
1pt 3-1 bet365
J Debrusk top series goalscorer
0.5pt 22-1 Paddy Power

Already advised
St Louis to win Stanley Cup
1pt 18-1 April 10

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