Wonder if this is the first time a team on at least a 13-game home winning streak is a home dog in a playoff game. The Blues trucked the Jets in Game 3, 7-2, and Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck has looked shaky in two of three this series. That has always been the knock on the soon-to-be three-time Vezina winner: Some questionable postseason performances. Why play +1 instead of Blues ML even if I tend to believe St. Louis wins? The Wild's home OT loss yesterday is why: Insurance is our friend. And if you played regulation +1, you won.

We're seeing this series much differently than many. The 1 vs 8 seed angle is often overrated as it seems here; the Blues assuredly played better than the Jets the past few months, with the difference in the standings mostly Winnipeg's fast start into December...a long time ago. There's also the matter of recent Jets postseason failures and several playoff struggles lately from Connor Hellebuyck, who was shelled again in Friday's 7-2 loss at Enterprise Center that got the Blues back into this series. St Louis skated evenly in the first two games north of the border before bringing out the hammer at home, and who's to say Jordan Binnington (who has a Stanley Cup) isn't the goalie to prefer? Play Blues on Money Line