The San Jose Sharks begin a four-game road trip through the Central Division on Tuesday with a visit to St. Louis. Both the Sharks and Blues are likely to be playoff teams this season. St. Louis is a home NHL betting favorite for this one.
Jake Allen allowed two goals on 16 shots. Allen kept the Stars off the board in the opening frame, but he surrendered a power play tally to Mattias Janmark early in the second period. The Stars then went up 2-0 midway through the third period and never looked back. Allen has now dropped seven of his last eight decisions. He has a 19-17-2 record with a 2.72 goals-against-average and a .908 save percentage this season.
Allen may have made his third start in the past four games Friday, but Coach Mike Yeo won’t say the team is back to the point Allen will be getting the bulk of the starts. Carter Hutton continues to lead the NHL in goals-against average (1.81) and save percentage (.940).
The recent slide has dropped the Blues from an automatic playoff position as the third-place team in the Central Division to a wild-card slot with 22 games remaining on their schedule.
Sharks at Blues NHL Betting Pick & Expert Analysis
When: Tuesday, 8 PM ET Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis TV: NHL Center Ice, CSNCAL, FSMW Radio: 98.5 FM (San Jose) / 98.1 FM (St. Louis) Opening NHL Lines: TBA#AirShark is now boarding for St. Louis ✈️ pic.twitter.com/P5krJOWUZf
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) February 19, 2018
Last Season
Amazingly, we are deep into February and these conference rivals haven’t played. Last year, the Blues swept. It was 3-2 in the first meeting in St. Louis. Jaden Schwartz had two goals and David Perron the game winner. Jake Allen had 29 saves — holding off the Sharks’ 6-on-4 advantage over the final 55 seconds. In the second meeting, the Blues won 4-0 in San Jose. Carter Hutton, a former Sharks farmhand who never made the NHL with San Jose, had 23 saves in the shutout. Colton Parayko had a power-play goal and assisted on David Perron’s score in the second period. Jori Lehtera also scored and Alex Steen had an empty-net goal for St. Louis. Martin Jones made 22 saves for San Jose In the final meeting, the Blues won 4-1 in San Jose again. Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals. Hutton had 19 saves. Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored the lone goal for the Sharks. Aaron Dell made 32 saves.Why Bet on San Jose?
The Sharks are on a two-game winning streak following a 5-2 home victory over Dallas on Sunday. Joe Pavelski notched a goal and two assists. Pavelski led his team to an early lead, helping the Sharks earn retribution for a 6-0 loss to the Stars on New Year’s Eve. Pavelski now has 15 goals and 45 points in 59 games this season. Martin Jones made 26 saves on 28 shots. Jones improved to 18-15-5 this season with a .915 save percentage and 2.54 goals against average. The 28-year-old is bouncing back after a tough December and January stretch where he won just four of 16 games and allowed more than three goals per game. Tomas Hertl (undisclosed) took part in Sunday’s morning skate but was unable to play in the game. Hertl has not played since last Tuesday when he crashed into the boards. He has 15 goals and 33 points in 57 games. He is accompanying the Sharks on the road trip. Star Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, last year’s Norris Trophy winner, left Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury in the third period and did not return. He has 10 goals and 50 points in 59 games but is a minus-19. The loss will be big for the Sharks if he is out for any length of time as they are already missing Joe Thornton from his lineup.Why Bet on St. Louis?
The NHL trade deadline is next Monday but the Blues didn’t bother waiting until the last minute. Last week, they acquired forward Nikita Soshnikov for a 2019 fourth round draft pick. Not exactly a blockbuster. Soshnikov has seven goals and 10 assists in 19 games with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. He also dressed for three games with the Leafs, and has appeared in 70 NHL games with seven goals and seven assists. The Blues enter on a three-game skid but have been off since a 2-1 defeat in Dallas on Friday. Brayden Schenn scored a power play goal in the loss. He got the Blues on the board at the 18:46 mark of the third period to cut the deficit to 2-1. The 26-year-old now has 24 goals and 55 points in 60 games this season and eight of his 24 goals have been scored on the man-advantage. Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko registered the assists.
Jake Allen allowed two goals on 16 shots. Allen kept the Stars off the board in the opening frame, but he surrendered a power play tally to Mattias Janmark early in the second period. The Stars then went up 2-0 midway through the third period and never looked back. Allen has now dropped seven of his last eight decisions. He has a 19-17-2 record with a 2.72 goals-against-average and a .908 save percentage this season.
Allen may have made his third start in the past four games Friday, but Coach Mike Yeo won’t say the team is back to the point Allen will be getting the bulk of the starts. Carter Hutton continues to lead the NHL in goals-against average (1.81) and save percentage (.940).
The recent slide has dropped the Blues from an automatic playoff position as the third-place team in the Central Division to a wild-card slot with 22 games remaining on their schedule.
Latest NHL Betting Trends
- San Jose is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games
- San Jose is 4-1 SU in the last 5 games
- The total went UNDER in 7 of San Jose’s last 10 games
- St. Louis is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games
- St. Louis is 2-4 SU in the last 6 games
- The total went OVER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 6 games
