St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock said it best in his postgame press conference on Sunday afternoon.
"This is going to be a long series."
The Chicago Blackhawks hope they can do their part to force this series to at least six guaranteed games on Tuesday night when they look to level this best-of-seven set on their home ice.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
One would've thought home ice advantage to be crucial in this series, but so far, it's the away team which has scored two of the three victories.
What hasn't disappointed in this series is just how close the games have been. All three games have been decided by a single goal.
Chicago has been favored every step of the way, and it's going to once again be a relatively sizeable favorite in this game as well, perhaps even as high as -160.
GOALIE REPORT
For two plus periods, Corey Crawford was fantastic on Sunday in Chicago's net. He stopped 26 of his first 27 shots faced when the wheels came off just a bit. The Stanley Cup-winning net minder allowed two goals in the third in a shocking St. Louis comeback.
Brian Elliott deserves a lot of credit as well. He was almost the footnote of Game 3 even though statistically, he was a monster, stopping 44-of-46 shots. Elliott has now allowed just four goals in three games in this series, and his 1.28 GAA is proof that he was the right choice in net for Hitchcock.
Elliott led the league with a .930 save percentage and was second in the league with a 2.07 GAA, but his playoff history was always suspect. If he continues for the next five weeks or so as hot as he has been in the first three games of this series, the Blues will have a legitimate chance to hoist the Cup.
LIVE BETTING
The Blues were so dangerous on the power play in the regular season converting at a 21.5 percent clip, and they're really doing the job here in this series, too. They scored twice on the man advantage on Sunday, and that proved to be the difference in the game.
The Blackhawks did a fantastic job shutting down St. Louis while a man down in the first two games at the Scottrade Center, but if they can't figure out how to stay out of the box in this one, they could have a lot of issues.
QUICK PICK
When we previewed Game 3, we suggested that Chicago will probably win the game more often than not but that the value rests with the Blues. We're sticking with that exact same prognostication in this one.
St. Louis has proven that it's good enough to stick around in this series, and Hitchcock and his team will know that this is the chance to perhaps finally put the champs down. We suspect this will be a high-flying game with a lot of great action on both ends of the ice.
We haven't seen a lot of OT in these playoffs, but this could be a game where that's what it comes down to.
NHL Odds: Blues 3, Blackhawks 2
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BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! Game 4 of this series between the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks will commence on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 9:30 p.m. ET at the United Center. The contest will be broadcast nationally on NBC Sports Network.
