It was fourth-liner Tyler Motte who came up massive for Vancouver as he buried two goals on partial breakaways In Game 5.

In net, Jake Allen was shaky for the Blues, stopping 26 of 30 pucks. St. Louis head coach Craig Berube has not named a starter for Game 6, and some are calling for Jordan Binnington to take back the crease after being benched for Allen from Game 3 onward.

Blues vs. Canucks NHL Playoff Odds

Adversity isn’t something unfamiliar to this St. Louis squad. Last season the Blues fell behind 3-2 to Dallas, and then 2-1 to both San Jose and Boston before coming back and ultimately winning the cup. St. Louis was also down 2-0 in this series, but now have a must-win Friday.

Since the start of the NHL postseason, St. Louis and Vancouver are on opposite paths. The Blues have dropped six of their eight games, while the Canucks have won six of their nine postseason games. Still, the reigning cup-winning Blues are a -140 favourite to win Game 6.

St. Louis Blues

Can St. Louis get some depth scoring? Aside from the Blues’ top line of Jaden Schwartz, Ryan O’Reilly, and David Perron, St. Louis has only two multi-goal scorers in their eight postseason games. Those other two are Brayden Schenn and Alex Pietrangelo, who respectively finished first and fourth on St. Louis in regular season goals.

The Blues’ depth played a massive role in the playoff run last season, and so far it hasn’t cut it with the likes of O’Reilly and Perron carrying the offence. In a win or go home game it has to be the bottom nine stepping up for St. Louis, a la Motte for Vancouver.

Vancouver Canucks

And speaking of Motte, his two-goal night were his first points of the playoffs. Jake Virtanen also put in his first of the postseason, adding to Vancouver’s depth scoring in Game 5.

Goalie Jacob Markstrom was fantastic again Wednesday with 36 saves. Markstrom now has an outstanding .927 save percentage in the postseason and has the ability to completely shut the Blues down and advance to the next round.

With Tyler Myers already injured, Vancouver could be without another defenceman for Game 6. Veteran Alex Edler took a Jordan Kyrou skate to the right of his face in Game 5, and Canucks head coach Travis Green has yet to give an update on Edler’s status for Friday.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Blues vs. Canucks?

BLUES

Away

3

CANUCKS

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