NHL Knowledge
San Jose-St Louis
Road team won four of last five St Louis-San Jose games; Blues won four of last seven games overall aganst the Sharks, winning 7-2/1-0 in last two visits here. St Louis won five of last eight games (over 3-2-3) overall; they won last three road games. Sharks won last four home games by combined score of 18-7 (over 2-0-2). San Jose is 2-8 on power play in series, the Blues are 0-7. St Louis is 5-2 on road so far in playoffs, San Jose is 5-1 at home in playoffs, losing one game to the Kings.
Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 16-9, Over: 11-5-9
Conference finals-- Home 2-3, Over 1-3-1
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Thursday's NHL Conference Finals Betting Preview
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St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks (A: +125, H: -145, O/U: 5)
After seizing home-ice advantage with a dominant victory in St. Louis on Tuesday, the San Jose Sharks look to continue the momentum when they host the Blues in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday night. The Sharks rolled to a 5-0 win in Game 2, their fifth victory by a margin of at least three goals in the past 10 games.
The Blues were outplayed in both games at home and only a stellar performance by netminder Brian Elliott in Game 1 is keeping them from staring at a 2-0 series deficit. "(They have) got their 'A' game going right now, and it's our job to catch up," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said of San Jose after Tuesday's beating. "We have played two 'B' games, and I think at times quite frankly, we're fortunate it's 1-1. We'll take 1-1 right now with the way we've played." The Sharks were 18-20-3 during the regular season at SAP Center -- the worst mark of any playoff team -- but have rectified those issues by winning five in a row at home, with their only loss coming in overtime in the first round. "SAP Center is different come playoff time," San Jose forward Logan Couture said. "It's full, it's loud, it's an intimidating building, and that definitely helps."
PROBABLE GOALIES:
Blues - Brian Elliott (W/L: 9-7, GAA: 2.26, SAVE %: .930)
Sharks - Martin Jones (W/L: 9-5, GAA: 2.02, SAVE %: .919)
ABOUT THE BLUES (58-29-11, 38-44 O/U): St. Louis captain David Backes acknowledged that San Jose was the best team for five of the six periods in Games 1 and 2, one reason why coach Ken Hitchcock said he is planning to make some changes to his lineup to jump-start his team. "I think changing your lineup has a real impact. There can't be any emotion in the coaches' decisions at this time," Hitchcock told reporters Wednesday. "You have to do what's best for your team. ... We're probably going to have to make a few more tomorrow and hopefully they work." Leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko registered a game-high six shots on goal Tuesday but has been held off the scoresheet in the series.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (55-32-9, 48-37 O/U): Brent Burns established franchise records for a defenseman during the regular season with 27 goals and 75 points and has not slowed down in the playoffs, netting a pair of pair of power-play goals in Game 2 to give him six for the postseason. "Best I've ever seen," San Jose coach Pete DeBoer said of Burns' shooting prowess from the point. "I think [it's] just how he can get it off from every angle, how he can get it to the net off balance, in bad spots. He finds a way to get it there. If it's in the right spot, it's going in. That's a great weapon for us." Logan Couture had a pair of assists Tuesday to set a team record with 19 points.
TRENDS:
* Blues are 9-2 in their last 11 games following a home loss of 3 or more goals.
* Sharks are 2-11 in their last 13 Conference Finals games.
* Under is 6-1-2 in Blues last 9 Thursday games.
* Over is 5-0-1 in Sharks last 6 Thursday games.
* Road team is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
CONSENSUS: The San Jose Sharks are picking up 66 percent of the moneyline wagers for Game 3. There is also plenty of action on the total, with Over 5 nabbing 61 percent of the picks.
ST LOUIS (58-30-0-10, 126 pts.) at SAN JOSE (55-33-0-8, 118 pts.) - 5/19/2016, 9:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 24-11 ATS (+7.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN JOSE is 19-5 ATS (+13.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 58-40 ATS (+6.4 Units) in all games this season.
ST LOUIS is 28-15 ATS (+12.4 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
ST LOUIS is 35-23 ATS (+6.1 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 5-0 ATS (+5.0 Units) when tied in a playoff series this season.
ST LOUIS is 33-22 ATS (+8.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 22-13 ATS (+7.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 12-16 ATS (-9.9 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
SAN JOSE is 27-28 ATS (-22.6 Units) in home games second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 0-4 ATS (-6.9 Units) in home games after shutting out their opponent in their previous game this season.
SAN JOSE is 8-11 ATS (-13.2 Units) in home games after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 7-4 (+2.4 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 7-4-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.0 Units)
ST. LOUIS vs. SAN JOSE
St. Louis is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis's last 6 games on the road
San Jose is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games
San Jose is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
St Louis at San Jose
St Louis: 5-0 SU when tied in a playoff series
San Jose: 5-9 SU in home games off a road win