Bruins open as Cup favorites against Blues

[May 23, 2019]    The St. Louis Blues, who were a 300-to-1 long shot to win the Stanley Cup in early January, have come a long way but still will enter the Stanley Cup Final as underdogs to the Boston Bruins.

Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) is congratulated by center Tyler Bozak (21) and center Ryan O'Reilly (90) after scoring against the San Jose Sharks during the first period in game six of the Western Conference Final of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Boston is -165 to win its seventh Cup in franchise history, meaning a bet of $165 would return $100 in winnings. The Blues are +135 at Bovada, with a bet of $100 winning $135.

The Blues fired coach Mike Yeo in late November and were 17-20-4 at the midway point in January before finishing the regular season on a 28-8-5 run and carrying that momentum through the Western Conference playoffs.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final will be at Boston on Monday. The Bruins swept the Blues in the 1970 finals -- the last time the Blues made the finals. St. Louis never has won the Cup.

Boston has won seven consecutive games, taking the final three from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference semifinals and sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference finals.

--Field Level Media

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