NHL Knowledge
San Jose-Pittsburgh
Penguins can win 4th Stanley Cup here; would be first title Pittsburgh team has won at home since '60 World Series. San Jose lost five of last seven games with Pittsburgh, they lost three of last five playoff road games. Seven of last 14 Shark-Penguin games went OT, four to shootout- seven of last eight tilts stayed under total. San Jose is 1-8 on power play in series; Penguins 1-8. Pittsburgh has a 133-98 edge in shots in first four games. Sharks are in Stanley Cup finals for first time; Penguins are in for first time since winning Cup in '09, its third Stanley Cup title. Pittsburgh won its last three home games, giving up a total of four goals.
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
Home: 3-1 Over: 0-4
Armadillosports.com
Thursday's NHL Stanley Cup Game 5 Betting Preview
By Covers.com
San Jose Sharks at Pittsburgh Penguins (A: +145, H: -155, O/U: 5)
The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the threshold of a milestone moment, needing one win to become the first major sports team in the city to win a championship at home since the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960. Armed with a 3-1 series lead, the Penguins go for their fourth Stanley Cup title when they host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night in Game 5.
Pittsburgh pushed the Sharks to the brink of elimination with a 3-1 victory at San Jose on Monday night to edge closer to its first Stanley Cup championship since 2009. "We have to try to do our best to ignore some of the noise surrounding the group and I think our players are well aware of it," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of the tantalizing opportunity of hoisting the Cup in front of the home fans. The Sharks are trying to become the second team in league history to win the Cup after facing a 3-1 series deficit -- a seemingly insurmountable task given that they have yet to hold a lead in regulation against Pittsburgh. "We want to win one game and get a Game 6 back here at home," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. "I think we would be comfortable in that spot that we could get it to go seven."
PROBABLE GOALIES:
Sharks - Martin Jones (W/L: 13-9, GAA: 2.06, SAVE %: .918)
Penguins - Matt Murray (W/L: 14-5, GAA: 2.09, SAVE %: .927)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (59-35-10, 51-42 O/U): After averaging a playoff-best 3.5 goals through the first three rounds of the postseason, San Jose has scored only seven times in four games versus Pittsburgh. Captain Joe Pavelski scored 13 goals and had a seven-game point streak entering the Finals, but he has been held off the scoresheet by the Penguins. "If it's different, if it's 3-1 and you don't have anything, it's a different story," Pavelski said. "But right now, with the hole we're [in], a goal or two probably changes the outcome. The way it's been going for most of the postseason, I feel like I should probably have a bit more." Forward Logan Couture has a postseason-best 26 points, but both he and defenseman Brent Burns have been limited to two assists in the Finals.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (63-30-11, 45-41 O/U): Center Evgeni Malkin, the Conn Smythe Award winner in Pittsburgh's 2009 run to the Cup, admitted he wasn't producing enough through the first three games of the series and responded to his own "I want more" declaration by setting up one tally and scoring what proved to be the game-winner in Game 4. “We’ve seen him do it so many times,” Penguins forward Matt Cullen said. “He’s such a big part of the team. He demands a lot of himself, so to see him come out like that in a big game when he kind of called himself out a bit, it’s pretty impressive. That’s what good players do." Forward Phil Kessel is near the front of the line for this season's Conn Smythe after collecting a pair of assists Monday to boost his team-high total to 21 points.
TRENDS:
* Sharks are 8-2 in their last 10 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Penguins are 6-0 in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
* Under is 12-3-2 in Penguins last 17 Stanley Cup Finals games.
* Under is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Pittsburgh.
* Sharks are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Pittsburgh.
CONSENSUS: At the time of publication of this preview, the Pittsburgh Penguins are grabbing 71 percent of the public picks and Over 5 is leading the way in totals wagering at 66 percent.
SAN JOSE (59-36-0-9, 127 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (63-30-0-11, 137 pts.) - 6/9/2016, 8:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 6-4 (+1.9 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 6-4-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.6 Units)
SAN JOSE vs. PITTSBURGH
San Jose is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of San Jose's last 8 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games when playing San Jose
Pittsburgh is 5-1 SU in its last 6 game
San Jose at Pittsburgh
San Jose: 11-3 SU in road games after having lost 2 of their last 3
Pittsburgh: 11-18 SU after 2 consecutive non-conference games