NHL Knowledge
Sharks won six of last nine games with St Louis; over is 6-2-1 in those games. Blues won ten of last 12 road games; over is 10-5-4 in their last 19 games. 11 of last 16 St Louis games were decided by a single goal. San Jose won nine of last 13 games but just had tough 7-game series with Nashville; Blues also had a 7-game series win over Dallas. Sharks won six of last seven home games. Over is 6-2-4 in their last 12 games overall.
Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 16-9, Over: 11-5-9
Conference finals-- Home 0-1, Over 0-1
Armadillosports.com
Western Conference Finals
By Alex Smith
VegasInsider.com
St. Louis Blues vs. San Jose Sharks
Head-to-Head Meetings (2013-2016)
Mar. 22, 2016 - St. Louis 1 at San Jose 0 (Blues +120, Under 5)
Feb 22, 2016 - San Jose 6 at St. Louis 3 (Sharks +105, Over 5)
Feb 4, 2016 - San Jose 3 at St. Louis 1 (Sharks +100, Under 5)
Jan 8, 2015 - San Jose 2 at St. Louis 7 (Blues -175, Over 5.5)
Jan 3, 2015 - St. Louis 7 at San Jose 2 (Blues +110, Over 5)
Dec 20, 2014 - St. Louis 2 at San Jose 3 (Sharks -130, Push 5)
Dec 17, 2013 - San Jose 4 at St. Louis 2 (Sharks -110 Over 5.5)
Nov 29, 2013 - St. Louis 3 at San Jose 6 (Sharks -120 Over 5.5)
Oct 15, 2013 - San Jose 6 at St. Louis 2 (Sharks +115, Over 5.5)
San Jose has won 6 of Last 10 Meetings vs St. Louis
Over is 7-2-1 Last 10 Meetings
Underdog has won 6 of Last 8 Meetings
St. Louis Recent Trends
10-2 SU Last 12 Road Games
Over is 10-5-4 Last 19 Games Overall
11 of Last 16 Games have been decided by 1 Goal
Starting Goalie
Brian Elliott: 20-8 SU Last 28 Starts
Lifetime Record vs SJ:5-4, 2.67 G.A.A; .918 Sv% w/2 SO in 11 GP
San Jose Recent Trends
On a 9-4 SU Run Last 13 Games Overall
Over is 6-2-4 Last 12 Games Overall
6-1 SU Last 7 Home Games
13-6 SU Last 19 Road Games
Starting Goalie
Martin Jones:10-6 SU Last 16 Starts
Lifetime Record vs STL:2-2, 2.08 G.A.A; .925 Sv% in 4 GS
Series Odds
Blues -135
Sharks +115
Exact Game Props
7 Games Blues Win 3/1
5 Games Blues Win 4/1
6 Games Sharks Win 4/1
7 Games Sharks Win 9/2
6 Games Blues Win 5/1
5 Games Sharks Win 6/1
4 Games Blues Win 10/1
4 Games Sharks Win 12/1
SAN JOSE (54-32-0-8, 116 pts.) at ST LOUIS (57-29-0-10, 124 pts.) - 5/15/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ST LOUIS is 57-39 ATS (+9.1 Units) in all games this season.
ST LOUIS is 34-22 ATS (+0.2 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 32-21 ATS (+4.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 21-12 ATS (+7.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 21-8 ATS (+12.5 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
SAN JOSE is 18-8 ATS (+8.5 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 11-3 ATS (+7.8 Units) in road games when playing with 2 days rest this season.
SAN JOSE is 44-26 ATS (+16.8 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive overs since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 16-7 ATS (+7.2 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
SAN JOSE is 31-14 ATS (+13.0 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
SAN JOSE is 23-10 ATS (+11.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN JOSE is 18-4 ATS (+13.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 19-34 ATS (-34.8 Units) in home games on Sunday games since 1996.
ST LOUIS is 5-9 ATS (+5.0 Units) in home games after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 6-3 (+2.4 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 6-3-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+4.2 Units)
SAN JOSE vs. ST. LOUIS
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of San Jose's last 23 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
San Jose is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of St. Louis's last 23 games when playing at home against San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 5 of St. Louis's last 6 games when playing at home against San Jose
San Jose at St Louis
San Jose: 11-3 SU in road games when playing with 2 days rest
St Louis: 2-6 SU in home games after a blowout win by 3 goals or more
NHL Western Conference Finals Betting Preview
Sportspic.com
It seems that every NHL season delivers up a surprise team that goes deeper than expected, and it’s fair to say that the Western Conference Final features a pair of teams that many are surprised to see there. If you had put some money on the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues being the two teams in the conference final, you could be sitting on a rather nice little chunk of change right now. Both of these teams have had to battle hard to get where they are, with 3 of their 4 combined series going the full 7 games. This would suggest that both teams may be running a little on empty, but when you reach this stage of the season, and are this close to being in the Stanley Cup Final, you tend to find energy reserves that you did not know were there. The biggest question now is which of these two teams will go on to represent the West in the Stanley Cup Final, so let’s see if we can perhaps give a clearer answer to that question with our in depth NHL odds analysis.
Why bet on the San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have made a dramatic turnaround after back to back disappointments in the last two seasons. Two years ago, they were knocked out by the LA Kings in the opening round after building up a 3-0 series lead. Last year proved to be even more miserable, as problems on and off the ice led to them missing the playoffs altogether. The Sharks booked their ticket to the postseason with a third place finish in the Pacific Division, and that meant a re-match with the LA Kings in the opening round. San Jose made no mistake this time around, putting away the Kings in 5 games. They had what looked like an easier go of things against the Nashville Predators in the second round, but were forced to go the full 7 games in order to move on. The Sharks have been very disciplined throughout the postseason, and are the least penalized team in the playoffs. If they can maintain that against a physical Blues side, they could well move on.
Why bet on the St. Louis Blues
The Blues have gone a long way toward shaking off the choker label in this postseason, but they have not had an easy time of it. St. Louis has had the toughest road of any of the 4 teams left in the playoffs. They had to start out by facing the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks, who they bounced in 7 games, and then they had to go up against the high-scoring Dallas Stars, who they also dumped in 7 games. The Blues have been strong and physical throughout the postseason, but have also been a real offensive threat along the way. They have made a habit of wearing teams down with their physical play, but that may be a tough ask against a Sharks team that easily manhandled the very physical Kings. The Blues have a bit more to offer on offense than the Sharks, and that may prove to be the difference.
NHL Western Conference Finals Prediction
This is another series that looks destined to go all the way, as these two teams are pretty evenly matched. The Blues have thrived in long series, and I think they will do so again.
St. Louis Blues in 7
Sunday's NHL Conference Finals Betting Preview
By Covers.com
San Jose Sharks at St. Louis Blues (A: +115, H: -135, O/U: 5)
The San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues regularly have waltzed their way through many a successful regular season only to come up short in the playoffs. With a combined three Game 7 victories in the 2016 postseason under their belts, the star-crossed clubs look to keep on dancing on Sunday when they open their Western Conference final at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
"I don't try and live in the past for this franchise or for the San Jose franchise," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong told reporters. With good reason, as the Blues have bowed out in the first round in each of the previous three years before outlasting reigning Stanley Cup champion Chicago and fellow Central Division rival Dallas to earn their first conference final appearance since 2001. San Jose is playing in the West final for the fourth time in franchise history - and first since 2011. The Sharks avenged squandering a 3-0 series lead to Los Angeles in 2014 by besting the Kings in five games in the first round before navigating past Nashville in the conference semifinals.
PROBABLE GOALIES:
Sharks - Martin Jones (W/L: 8-4, GAA: 2.16, SAVE %: .918)
Blues - Brian Elliott (W/L: 8-6, GAA: 2.29, SAVE %: .930)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (54-31-9, 48-35 O/U): Logan Couture (seven goals, 10 assists) leads the NHL with 17 points while captain Joe Pavelski (franchise record-tying nine goals) and defenseman Brent Burns (club-best 11 assists) have powered San Jose to the brink of the Promised Land. The trio, in fact, has ignited the Sharks' potent power play as Couture and Pavelski each have four tallies and eight points with the man advantage while shot-happy Burns has seven. San Jose has gone 13-for-42 on the power play for a playoff-best 30.9 percent efficiency rate.
ABOUT THE BLUES (57-28-11, 38-42 O/U): Rookie Robby Fabbri (three goals, 10 assists) and Vladimir Tarasenko (team-leading seven goals, six assists) each have recorded 13 points while captain David Backes (six goals, six assists) has 12, albeit with an NHL-best three game-winning goals. The 20-year-old Fabbri has worked well with linemates Troy Brouwer and Paul Stastny, as the trio accounted for 23 points against the Stars - with each player recording a goal and two assists in the Game 7 rout. "They're committed to create scoring chances from work, not just from skill," coach Ken Hitchcock told reporters of the line. "When you've got it, it's like gold."
TRENDS:
* Sharks are 1-10 in their last 11 Conference Finals games.
* Blues are 0-4 in their last 4 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
* Over is 5-0-4 in Sharks last 9 overall.
* Over is 6-1-6 in Blues last 13 overall.
* Over is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in St. Louis.
CONSENSUS: The home favorite Blues are picking up most of the action with 68 percent of the Consensus picks. No real surprise, based on the trends above, but the Over 5 is also in the majority at 66 percent.