The San Jose Sharks got what they wanted in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals in St. Louis: a split. Now the series heads to California for Game 3 on Thursday night. And San Jose is now not just a favorite for Game 3 on NHL odds but also for the series.
How To Bet on the St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks NHL Playoffs Lines Game 3 & TV Info
When: Thursday, May 19, 9 PM ET
Where: SAP Center, San Jose
TV: NBC Sports Network
Stream: NHL.tv
Opening NHL Lines: TBA
Blues at Sharks Historic Betting Trends
After dropping Game 1 2-1, the Sharks rolled in Game 2 4-0. Defenseman Brent Burns scored San Jose’s first two power-play goals of the Western Conference Finals, and Martin Jones stopped 26 shots for his second shutout of the postseason.
It was a huge bounce-back performance from Jones, who allowed a weak goal to Jori Lehtera in San Jose’s Game 1 loss. The 26-year-old has given up two goals or less in four of his last five outings. He has a 9-5 record with a 2.02 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage during the postseason. How unusual was the shutout? In 50 home games this season, regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Blues have been shut out twice; Jhonas Enroth of the Los Angeles Kings did it Nov. 3. Jones stopped right wing Vladimir Tarasenko on a breakaway in the first minute of the game, then made 11 saves in the third period when St. Louis found its game and tried to rally from a 2-0 hole. Jones was aided by the fact that St. Louis right wing Troy Brouwer twice hit a goal post with a shot.
Tommy Wingels and Dainius Zubrus also scored, and Logan Couture had two assists. Couture leads the postseason with 19 points. San Jose went 2-for-5 with the man advantage in the match after going 0-for-3 in Game 1. It was the second two-goal game this postseason for Burns, who also did it against the Nashville Predators in Game 4 of the second round. He is one of 11 defensemen in NHL history to have two multigoal games in the same postseason, the first since Rob Blake of the Colorado Avalanche 14 years ago. Denis Potvin of the 1981 New York Islanders is the only defenseman to have three multigoal games in one playoff year. Burns has six goals this postseason, with 48 shots on goal in 14 games. He had 22 shot attempts in the first two games of this series.
Brian Elliott, so good in Game 1, made 20 saves for St. Louis, which is 4-5 at home and 5-2 on the road in the postseason. The Blues were shut out at home in a playoff game for the first time since April 14, 2001, in a 1-0 loss to the Sharks in Game 2 of the first round.
At even strength, San Jose spent a lot of time in the St. Louis zone. The line of Tomas Hertl, Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton was dominant, often against Patrik Berglund, Alexander Steen and David Backes, supposedly the best matchup for the Blues.
“We have played two ‘B’ games and I think at times quite frankly, we’re fortunate it’s 1-1, and we’ll take 1-1 right now with the way we’ve played,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We have another level that we can play at, we’ve seen it, but it hasn’t come out at home as much as it has in other buildings for whatever reason.”
Expert Betting Prediction
I still like Blues in series and in Game 3 — the Sharks were the worst team at home of all 16 playoff clubs during the regular season.
