Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Friday 5/10/19
The Western Conference finals get underway on Friday after both of these teams own Game 7s to advance. The St. Louis Blues earned an impressive 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars in double overtime of Game 7 to advance. The San Jose Sharks earned a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in their Game 7 to reach the Western Conference finals.
Featured Games
Louis Blues (+105) vs. San Jose Sharks (-125)
About St. Louis
The St. Louis Blues defeated the Winnipeg Jets in six games in the first round to advance. St. Louis then took on the Dallas Stars, splitting the first six games of this series to force a Game 7. Both teams scored a first-period goal. Vince Dunn gave the Blues the lead with his first goal of the playoffs, but Mats Zuccarello tied the score about two minutes later. This was then an incredible goaltending battle as neither team could earn the goal ahead goal. That forced the game into overtime where neither team scored, sending the contest to a second overtime. That is when Pat Maroon scored his third playoff goal at the 5:50 mark to send the St. Louis Blues on to the next round.
Blues center Ryan O’Reilly has scored three points in his last two games. This after scoring no points in his previous five contests.
About San Jose
It took seven games for the San Jose Sharks to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That set them up against the Colorado Avalanche, who would force a Game 7 in their series as well. The deciding contest saw San Jose jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, thanks to goals by Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl. Colorado would cut the deficit in half, but Joonas Donskol restored the Sharks to goal lead with his first goal of the playoffs. Colorado would make this a one-goal game on a goal by Tyson Jost less than a minute into the third, but they could not earn the equalizer, giving the San Jose Sharks the 3-2 victory.
Goaltending Matchup:
Jordan Binnington has had an outstanding playoff run for St. Louis, posting a 2.39 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage through the first 13 games. He finished the second round by allowing a single goal in each of the last two contests and allowing four total goals over the final three games. Binnington finished the regular season with a 24-5-1 mark and an impressive 1.89 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.
Martin Jones enters this series with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in 14 games this postseason. After giving up four goals in Game 6, he responded by allowing just two of the 29 shots he faced in Game 7 to get by. Jones finished the regular season with a 36-19-5 record, a 2.94 goals-against average, and a .896 save percentage.
Stat Pack:
Blues:
Goals For: 2.62
Goals Against: 2.54
Power-Play: 17.1%
Penalty Killing: 75.0%
Sharks:
Goals For: 3.07
Goals Against: 3.07
Power-Play: 18.5%
Penalty Killing: 80.8%
Trends to Know
St. Louis Blues are:
5-1 in their last six games on the road.
16-7 in their last 23 games.
1-4 in their last five conference finals games.
San Jose Sharks are:
5-1 in their last six games at home.
7-3 in their last 10 games.
4-1 in their last five conference finals games.
Prediction
Both these teams are coming off exciting series, and one has to wonder how drained they are going to be after such an intense second round. However, no time to waste, as both teams looked to jump out in front in this series. This contest presents an interesting dynamic, as St. Louis is 5-1 in their last six games on the road and San Jose is 5-1 in their last six games at home. It makes it a difficult choice, but we look to a trend that really stands out here. The home team has won the last five contests between these two teams and we expect that trend to continue here.
The total is set at 5.5. Both Binnington and Jones looked exceptional in the Game 7 victories, and we expect them to be the biggest factors in this contest. San Jose is going to win, but it is not going to be an easy contest. Take the San Jose Sharks, 3-1.