St Louis (0-0) at San Jose (0-0)
When: Saturday, May 11th, 2019
Where: SAP Center,
San Jose, CA
Time: 8:05 ET | TV: NBC
Opening Odds: San Jose -133/5.5
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Two keys to advancing through the Stanley Cup Playoffs is winning on the road and solid goaltending. Take a look at the final four teams left in the postseason and the St. Louis Blues fit that mold perfectly. The Blues look to continue their road dominance in the Western Conference Finals when they visit the San Jose Sharks for Game 1 on Saturday night. St. Louis improved to 5-1 on the road with a 4-1 victory at Dallas in Game 6 of the second-round series on Sunday before posting a 2-1 double-overtime thriller at home two nights later. The Sharks are also coming off a Game 7 victory, defeating the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Wednesday. The teams have played five times in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Sharks winning three of those series, including the 2016 conference finals. The Sharks won two of the three games against the Blues in the regular season with each team earning a 4-0 shutout, and San Jose winning the other game 3-2 in overtime. While the Blues have been a terror on the road, San Jose has felt right at home in the SAP Center, going 6-2 and have outscored opponents 31-22. “Home-ice advantage is awesome,” Sharks forward Kevin Labanc said. “We’ve worked so hard all season to obtain that, and it makes the biggest difference. The past two Game 7 games (at home against the Vegas Golden Knights and Avalanche), it was unbelievable for us.” If the Sharks were to go on and win the Cup, that Game 7 versus Vegas will go down as one of the most improbable reasons why. The Sharks were down 3-0 with just over 10 minutes to go until a major penalty gave San Jose the spark they needed. The Sharks scored four on that long power play only to see the Knights tie it with under a minute to go, but San Jose won in overtime. St. Louis won each of the three games at Winnipeg in the first round and two of three at Dallas in the second round. Each team enters the series looking to improve with the man-advantage. The Blues were 2-for-22 (9.1 percent) against the Stars in the second round and are 7-for-41 (17.1 percent) in the playoffs. The Sharks were 2-for-20 (10 percent) against the Avalanche in the second round and are 10-for-54 (18.5 percent) in the playoffs.
St. Louis owned the lowest point total in the NHL on January 3rd before the huge turnaround that was spurred by rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington, who posted a 24-5-1 mark with five shutouts and 1.89 goals-against average. Binnington, who didn’t face the Sharks this season, recorded a .922 save percentage in the second-round series versus the Stars. Jaden Schwartz has been the offensive hero this postseason with four goals in each of the first two rounds after managing just 11 goals in 69 games in the regular season. Captain Alex Pietrangelo has recorded at least one point in 13 of his last 16 games.
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The Sharks’ goaltending situation in the first round looked like it might doom them with Martin Jones being pulled twice in the first four games of the first-round series versus Vegas, but he turned it around with a .928 save percentage in his last 10 contests to keep San Jose going. Jones won his only start this season against St. Louis, a 3-2 overtime victory March 9th at home. Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture share the league lead with nine goals while their 14 points are tied with defenseman Brent Burns. Captain Joe Pavelski returned from his injury in Game 7 of the first round and recorded a goal and an assist in Game 7 against Colorado.
This should be a terrific series between these teams as both have a lot going for them. I know Jones has been much better in net since the first round, but I would still give the slight edge to Binnington, who has been stellar. The Blues have the defense to slow down this Shark attack, but do they have enough offense? Look for tight defensive games in this series with not a ton of goals scored. I’m going to start out in Game 1 by taking the under. These teams’ power plays have not been good and the under is 6-0-2 in the last eight meetings.
Pick: UNDER 5.5 -130
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Blues are 7-1 in their last 8 games as an underdog.
Blues are 6-1 in their last 7 games as a road underdog.
Blues are 5-1 in their last 6 road games.
Blues are 5-1 in their last 6 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
Blues are 5-1 in their last 6 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Blues are 5-1 in their last 6 Saturday games.
Blues are 5-1 in their last 6 playoff games as an underdog.
Blues are 7-2 in their last 9 vs. Pacific.
Blues are 20-8 in their last 28 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Blues are 7-3 in their last 10 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Blues are 16-7 in their last 23 overall.
Blues are 18-8 in their last 26 vs. a team with a winning record.
Blues are 21-10 in their last 31 games following a win.
Blues are 35-17 in their last 52 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Blues are 7-15 in their last 22 playoff games as an underdog of +110 to +150.
Blues are 1-4 in their last 5 Conference Finals games.
Under is 10-2-2 in Blues last 14 Saturday games.
Under is 5-1 in Blues last 6 vs. Pacific.
Under is 4-1-1 in Blues last 6 playoff games as an underdog of +110 to +150.
Under is 19-6-3 in Blues last 28 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Under is 3-1-2 in Blues last 6 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Over is 3-1-1 in Blues last 5 playoff games as an underdog.
Over is 3-1-1 in Blues last 5 road games.
Under is 9-3 in Blues last 12 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Over is 3-1-1 in Blues last 5 games as an underdog.
Under is 18-7-4 in Blues last 29 games as a road underdog.
Under is 25-10-2 in Blues last 37 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Under is 19-9-4 in Blues last 32 vs. a team with a winning record.
Sharks are 5-0 in their last 5 games as a favorite of -110 to -150.
Sharks are 5-0 in their last 5 playoff games as a favorite of -110 to -150.
Sharks are 5-0 in their last 5 games as a home favorite of -110 to -150.
Sharks are 5-1 in their last 6 games as a home favorite.
Sharks are 5-1 in their last 6 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Sharks are 5-1 in their last 6 games as a favorite.
Sharks are 5-1 in their last 6 home games.
Sharks are 4-1 in their last 5 Conference Finals games.
Sharks are 23-9 in their last 32 Saturday games.
Sharks are 15-6 in their last 21 vs. Central.
Sharks are 5-2 in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Sharks are 7-3 in their last 10 overall.
Sharks are 7-3 in their last 10 vs. Western Conference.
Sharks are 18-8 in their last 26 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Sharks are 39-19 in their last 58 playoff games as a favorite.
Over is 5-1 in Sharks last 6 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Over is 10-2 in Sharks last 12 home games.
Over is 9-2 in Sharks last 11 games as a home favorite.
Over is 8-2 in Sharks last 10 vs. a team with a winning record.
Over is 7-2 in Sharks last 9 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Over is 7-2 in Sharks last 9 games as a favorite.
Under is 3-1-1 in Sharks last 5 overall.
Over is 6-2 in Sharks last 8 playoff games as a favorite.
Under is 3-1-1 in Sharks last 5 vs. Central.
Under is 3-1-1 in Sharks last 5 vs. Western Conference.
Over is 12-4 in Sharks last 16 games as a home favorite of -110 to -150.
Over is 37-14-3 in Sharks last 54 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Over is 5-2 in Sharks last 7 playoff games as a favorite of -110 to -150.
Under is 5-2 in Sharks last 7 Saturday games.
Over is 5-2 in Sharks last 7 games as a favorite of -110 to -150.
Over is 21-10-2 in Sharks last 33 games playing on 2 days rest.
Over is 47-23-4 in Sharks last 74 games following a win.
Favorite is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
Under is 4-0-1 in the last 5 meetings in San Jose.
Under is 6-0-3 in the last 9 meetings.
Home team is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.
