Stanley Cup Final
By Alex Smith
VegasInsider.com
Pittsburgh Penguins vs San Jose Sharks
2015-16 Regular Season Head-to-Head Meetings
December 1st, 2015: Penguins 5 at Sharks 1 (-125) (Over 5)
November 21st, 2015: Sharks 3 at Penguins 1 (-120) (Under 5)
Pittsburgh Penguins
-- First SCF since 2009 (Beat Detroit in 7)
-- 12-6 SU, 9-5-4 O/U, 9-9 ATS
-- Home Record: 7-3
-- Road Record: 5-3
Power Play: 23.4% (15 for 64)
Penalty Kill: 83.6% (46 for 55)
Starting Goalie:
Matt Murray: 11-4, 2.21 G.A.A; .924 Sv% with 1 Shutout
19-8 SU in 27 GS (Season & Playoffs combined)
Lifetime Record vs SJ: First-Ever Meeting
Pittsburgh Recent Trends
-- 18-7 SU Last 25 Games Overall
-- 10-3 SU Last 13 Home Games
-- 10-4 SU Last 14 Games as a Favorite
-- 9-5-4 O/U Last 18 Games Overall
San Jose Sharks
-- First Ever SCF Appearance
-- 12-6 SU, 9-5-4 O/U, 11-7 ATS
-- Home Record: 7-2
-- Road Record: 5-4
Power Play: 27% (17 for 63)
Penalty Kill: 80.4% (41 for 51)
Starting Goalie:
Martin Jones: 12-6, 2.12 G.A.A; .919 Sv% with 3 Shutouts
Lifetime Record vs PIT: 2-2, 2.37 G.A.A; .923 Sv% in 5 GP
San Jose Recent Trends
-- On a 12-6 SU Run Last 18 Games Overall
-- Over is 7-3-3 Last 13 Games Overall
-- 6-1 ATS Last 7 Games on the Puck-Line
-- 8-2 SU Last 10 Home Games
-- 12-5 SU Last 17 Road Games
STANLEY CUP FINALS BETTING TRENDS
-- Home Favorites in Game 1 are 6-1 SU, 1-6 PL, 2-4-1 O/U
-- 5 of the Last 7 Stanley Cup Winners clinched on Road
-- Home Teams are 31-11 SU Last 6 SCF's -- Puck-Line Underdogs are 17-6 PL
-- Game 1 Winners have won the Stanley Cup in 4 of the last 7 SCF
-- Favorites are 8-3 SU Last 11 OT Games
STANLEY CUP FINALS NOTES (2009-2015)
2015 - Chicago vs Tampa Bay (Blackhawks win in 6)
2-4 Favorites, 4-2 Home, 1-5 PL Favorites, 1-5 O/U
No OT Games (First Series since 2009)
Series ends with Home Favorite win
1st Game: Road Underdog wins, Total UNDER 5
2014 - LA Kings vs NY Rangers (Kings win in 5)
4-1 Favorites, 4-1 Home, 1-4 PL Favorites, 1-2-2 O/U
3 Games in OT. Series ends in OT with Home Win
1st Game: Home Favorite Wins, Total Pushes 5
2013 - Chicago vs Boston (Blackhawks win in 6)
3-3 Favorites, 3-3 Home, 2-4 PL Favorites, 3-3 O/U
3 Games in OT, Series ends with Road Dog Win
1st Game: Home Favorite Wins, Total OVER 5
2012 - LA Kings vs NJ Devils (Kings win in 6)
4-2 Favorites, 3-3 Home, 2-4 PL Favorites, 1-5 O/U
2 Games in OT, Series ends with Road Favorite Win
1st Game: Home Favorite Wins, Total UNDER 5
2011 - Vancouver vs Boston (Bruins win in 7)
6-1 Favorites, 6-1 Home, 3-4 PL Favorites, 2-4-1 O/U
One OT Game, Series ends with Road Underdog Win
1st Game: Home Favorite Wins, Total UNDER 5.5
NOTE: 2011 Game 1 is the Last SCF game to have a 5.5 total
(23 game streak with 5 - Record: 7-13-3 O/U)
2010 - Chicago vs Philadelphia (Blackhawks win in 6)
6-0 Favorites, 5-1 Home, 2-4 PL Favorites, 5-1 O/U
2 OT Games, Series ends with Road Favorite Win
1st Game: Home Favorite Wins, Total OVER 5.5
2009 - Detroit vs Pittsburgh (Penguins win in 7)
6-1 Favorites, 6-1 Home, 5-2 PL Favorites, 2-5 O/U
No OT Games*, Series ends with Road Underdog Win
1st Game: Home Favorite Wins, Total UNDER 6
Series Price
Sharks +105
Penguins -125
Exact Games - Series winner
4 Games Penguins Win 17/2
4 Games Sharks Win 14/1
5 Games Penguins Win 7/2
5 Games Sharks Win 15/2
6 Games Penguins Win 4/1
6 Games Sharks Win 4/1
7 Games Penguins Win 7/2
7 Games Sharks Win 5/1
Exact Games
4 Games 5/1
5 Games 9/4
6 Games 7/4
7 Games 9/5
NHL Knowledge
San Jose-Pittsburgh
Sharks are in Stanley Cup finals for first time; Penguins are in for first time since winning Cup in 2009, its third Cup title. San Jose won six of last nine games with Pittsburgh; they split last four visits here. Five of last ten series games went OT, four to shootout- three of last four stayed under. Both teams are well-rested; Sharks had five days off, Penguins four. San Jose won its last two games in St Louis after losing three in row on road before that; over is 6-3-1 in their last ten games. Pitt split last four games; two of those four games went OT. Four of last five Penguin games went over total.
Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 16-9, Over: 11-5-9
Conference finals-- Home 6-7, Over 7-5-1
Armadillosports.com
NHL Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 Betting Preview
Covers.com
San Jose Sharks at Pittsburgh Penguins (A: +135, H: -155, O/U: 5.5)
Although the nickname implies otherwise, superstar Sidney Crosby is no longer a kid as he leads the Pittsburgh Penguins into the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in his 11-year tenure. While Crosby has a championship on his resume, the San Jose Sharks are in the Cup Finals for the first time beginning with Game 1 of the best-of-7 series Monday in Pittsburgh.
Crosby and fellow center Evgeni Malkin form one of the most lethal 1-2 combinations in the world, but the Penguins have relied on a deep and balanced roster to reach the Finals for the first time since winning the Cup in 2008-09. "We know how tough an opponent this is," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer told reporters. "They've got two of the best players in the world. They're a deep team. It's a great challenge for us." San Jose poses a daunting challenge as well, after scoring at least five goals in six of its 18 postseason games behind an imposing power play and a high-scoring No. 1 line led by captain Joe Pavelski. Both teams rely on speed -- "It's going to be fast hockey," Crosby acknowledged -- and feature head coaches and starting netminders who weren't with their respective clubs last season.
PROBABLE GOALIES:
Sharks - Martin Jones (W/L: 12-6, GAA: 2.12, SAVE %: .918)
Penguins - Matt Murray (W/L: 11-4, GAA: 2.22, SAVE %: .927)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (58-33-9, 51-38 O/U): San Jose brought in DeBoer and made wholesale changes to the roster after failing to make the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons and the results have been impressive -- all but one of the team's victories in the last two rounds of the postseason have been by a margin of at least three goals. Pavelski has been immense with a playoff-best 13 goals while playing alongside veteran Joe Thornton (15 assists) and Tomas Hertl, as has a power-play unit that has converted on 17-of-63 chances. Defenseman Brent Burns is third in the postseason with 20 points, trailing only Pavelski and Logan Couture, who leads all players with 24 points and 16 assists. Offseason acquisition Martin Jones has registered three shutouts in the last seven games.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (60-30-10, 45-37 O/U): While Crosby and Malkin each have 15 points, the team's leader is Phil Kessel, who has scored nine goals among his 18 points and is another reason why DeBoer calls the Penguins the "fastest team in the league." Linemate Nick Bonino, who has a team-high 12 assists, missed practice Sunday after he was hurt in Game 7 versus Tampa Bay, but coach Mike Sullivan insisted he "will be fine" for the series opener. Malkin's production has risen since he was paired with rookie speedster Bryan Rust, who scored both goals to eliminate the Lightning. Sullivan, promoted after Mike Johnston was fired in December, started Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 5 versus Tampa Bay before turning back to rookie netminder Matt Murray, who is 11-4-0 in the playoffs.
TRENDS:
* Sharks are 10-1 in their last 11 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Penguins are 5-1 in their last 6 vs. Western Conference.
* Over is 5-1-1 in Sharks last 7 vs. Metropolitan.
* Over is 6-1 in Penguins last 7 vs. Western Conference.
* Under is 5-1-1 in the last 7 meetings in Pittsburgh.
CONSENSUS: At the time of publication of this preview, the Pittsburgh Penguins are grabbing 61 percent of the public picks and Over 5.5 is leading the way in totals wagering at 54 percent.
SAN JOSE (58-34-0-8, 124 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (60-30-0-10, 130 pts.) - 5/30/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 31-32 ATS (-17.6 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 60-40 ATS (+10.6 Units) in all games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 42-21 ATS (+7.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 20-9 ATS (+9.5 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) in road games in non-conference games this season.
SAN JOSE is 44-27 ATS (+15.8 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive overs since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 17-8 ATS (+7.2 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
SAN JOSE is 33-15 ATS (+14.1 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
SAN JOSE is 27-12 ATS (+13.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN JOSE is 22-6 ATS (+14.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
PITTSBURGH is 72-95 ATS (-41.5 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 3-3-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
3 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.0 Units)
SAN JOSE vs. PITTSBURGH
San Jose4-1-1 SU in its last 6 games
San Jose is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games when playing Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games