NHL Playoffs 2016: Latest Stanley Cup Odds and Predictions for Saturday Games

The Chicago Blackhawks do not die easily. 

The St. Louis Blues had the defending Stanley Cup champions on the ropes as they rallied for two goals in the third period to send the fifth game of their series into overtime Thursday night.

Goals by Robby Fabbri and David Backes robbed Chicago of all the momentum it had gained by building a 3-1 lead. The first overtime was dominated by the Blues, both in terms of shots and puck possession. However, even though they won the battles in the corners and outshot the Blackhawks 11-7 in the first 20 minutes of overtime, they couldn't put a puck by Corey Crawford, and the Blackhawks had a reprieve.

As both teams felt fatigue start to creep in, the Blackhawks decided to impose their will.

Patrick Kane decided to play the role of hero once again. After collecting the puck deep in the St. Louis zone, he faked a slap shot and made an array of moves as he slid the puck toward the far side of the goal. The puck skittered wide, but there was no stopping Kane, who skated around the net, retrieved the puck and backhanded it into the open side for the 4-3 Chicago win.

It was the fifth playoff overtime goal of Kane's career.

The Blackhawks are not in good shape by any means, but trailing by a 3-2 margin is a lot better than the 3-1 deficit they faced when they started play in Game 5.

Now they come home to the United Center with a chance to tie the series and extend it to a seventh game.

Team	Odds
Anaheim Ducks	+1,200
Chicago Blackhawks	+1,500
Dallas Stars	+500
Florida Panthers	+2,500
Minnesota Wild	+20,000
Nashville Predators	+2,500
New York Islanders	+2,500
New York Rangers	+6.600
Philadelphia Flyers	+30,000
Pittsburgh Penguins	+550
San Jose Sharks	+800
St. Louis Blues	+700
Tampa Bay Lightning	+1,100
Washington Capitals	+350

The Blues are desperate to win a first-round series for the first time since the 2012 playoffs. The pressure on them is intense, but they can take solace in the fact they have outplayed the Blackhawks to this point in the series.

The Blues are confident in their ability to continue to play good hockey in Game 6. 

"I think the bite in us, the intensity within the group is something that's different this year," St. Louis left wing Alexander Steen told Louie Korac of NHL.com. "We know what we're capable of, and I think we've shown that in the first five games here in the series. I think we've played some really good hockey."

The Blues have won both games at the United Center this series, and they also won a late-season game in Chicago.

Still, the Blackhawks have the heartbeat of a champion, and it will be difficult for the Blues to answer the challenge.

The Anaheim Ducks are likely to get a rousing welcome when they return to the Honda Center for Game 5 against the Nashville Predators Saturday night.

When the Ducks last played on their home ice, they were skating off with a 2-0 deficit. Head coach Bruce Boudreau was complaining to reporters that his team was playing "stupid" hockey.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press/Associated Press

A cross-country trip to Nashville could have been the Ducks' undoing as they were forced to play in front of the rowdy Predators fans in the Honky Tonk, but it turned out to be a new lease on life. The Ducks found their game on the road and recorded back-to-back 3-0 and 4-1 victories in Tennessee.

Instead of playing the error-prone and ineffective game that caused Boudreau to react, the Ducks played air-tight defense and capitalized on their offensive chances.

Now they have evened their series, expect Anaheim to finally play effectively on their home ice.

Ducks center Andrew Cogliano knows his team has not accomplished anything yet. 

“Just because we’ve won two games doesn’t mean we’ve won anything,” Cogliano told Kyle Shohara of the Ducks' website. “We have to keep things rolling. Mentally, guys need to stay sharp. We got ourselves back in the series, and, if anything, we established how we need to play in order to win.”

Predictions

Look for the Blackhawks to press the Blues hard and take a one-goal lead into the third period. However, one will not be enough as the Blues will score twice and add an empty-netter to close out the series and eliminate the defending Stanley Cup champions.

The Ducks will put their home-ice woes behind them and register their third straight victory in their series with the Preds. Look for Anaheim to prevail by a 4-2 margin.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have a chance to end their series against the New York Rangers. After winning 5-0 at Madison Square Garden Thursday night, the Penguins will continue their dominance with a 4-1 victory and that will give them the series victory in five games.