Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Friday 5/17/19
After downing the St. Louis Blues in overtime in Game 3, 5-4, the San Jose Sharks now own a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals as these two teams square off in St. Louis on Friday. The Sharks would take a 2-0 lead thanks to first period goals from Erik Karlsson and Joe Thornton. Alexander Steen would cut the Blues deficit in half with his second goal of the playoffs, but Thornton would extend the lead back to two with his second goal of the game. St. Louis would battle back with three unanswered goals, two from David Perron to take the lead, as the four third period goals gave St. Louis their first lead of the game. However, Logan Couture would tie the score at the 11-minute mark of the third, netting his 14th goal of the post-season. That would send the game to overtime, where Karlsson would win it with his second goal of the game 5:23 into the extra frame.
Featured Games
San Jose Sharks (-125) vs. St. Louis Blues (+105)
About San Jose
The Sharks were in need of Thornton to start earning his time on the ice and his 2 goals and three points were a welcome sign for the Sharks, who very much needed some scoring from their third line. Thorton had just one point in his previous eight games.
Defenseman Eric Karlsson had been a play-making machine, recording 13 assists through the first 16 games of the playoffs. However, he came up with his first two goals, just in time, to help this team to victory.
After giving up four goals in the second period, Martin Jones responded by stopping 15 shots the rest of the way. This is what the team has come to expect – a lot of goals allowed but big saves when they are needed.
About St. Louis
The St. Louis Blues did not allow a power-play goal in Game 3, as San Jose had just one chance. They did score on their only opportunity with the man advantage.
While it was nice to see Perron score two goals, the three assists by Colton Parayko was a welcome sight. He had been held scoreless in his previous three games before the three-point night.
St. Louis may have been cheated in Game 3 as it appeared that a hand pass set up the winning goal. However, Coach Craig Berube has already made it clear that his team will be ready for Game 4.
Goaltending Matchup:
Martin Jones finds a way. Despite giving up four goals in Game 4, he found a way to make key saves at the right time to earn the victory. Jones has allowed four goals in each of the last two games and has allowed 11 total goals through the first three games, but is 2-1. The San Jose goaltender is 10-6 with a 2.89 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage through the first 16 games of the playoffs.
Jordan Binnington is struggling in this series. He allowed two goals in the Game 2 victory but has allowed five tallies in the other two contests, giving up 12 total goals through the first three games. He has saved just 70 of 82 shots. In 16 games this post-season, Binnington has a 2.67 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.
Stat Pack:
Sharks:
Goals For: 3.29
Goals Against: 3.18
Power-Play: 18.0%
Penalty Killing: 81.3%
Blues:
Goals For: 2.81
Goals Against: 2.88
Power-Play: 16.7%
Penalty Killing: 77.1%
Trends to Know
San Jose Sharks are:
9-4 in their last 13 games.
3-7 in their last 10 games on the road.
4-1 in their last five conference finals games.
St. Louis Blues are:
17-8 in their last 25 games.
17-7 in their last 24 games at home.
1-4 in their last five conference finals games.
Prediction
The playoffs are usually all about goaltending, but that has not been the case in this series. Neither netminder has been particularly good, and there is no reason to expect a big performance from either in this contest.
Where the focus lies is on desperation. St. Louis has to feel that if they are going to win this series, Game 4 is a must win. They are not likely to win three straight against the Sharks, especially considering that they cannot fully depend on Binnington right now.
The total is set at 5.5 for their fourth time in this series and it has yet to go under. Why should it when both Binnington and Jones have played fairly mediocre for two guys leading their teams in the conference finals. We take the over one more time as St. Louis ties the series, winning 4-3.
Preview: Sharks (47-27) at Blues (45-28)
The sting of their Game 3 overtime loss will once again test the mettle of the St. Louis Blues. Fortunately for them, the Blues have overcome enough adversity already this season to have a chance.
As the Blues look to rebound from a 5-4 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday when they continue the series Friday in St. Louis, it's with the confidence that they regrouped from being the league's last-place team when they awoke on Jan. 3 to reach the Western Conference finals -- a journey that includes a head coach firing and reliance upon a rookie goalie to turn the corner.
The motivation of knowing they received the short end of the stick when Timo Meier's hand-pass resulted in Erik Karlsson scoring the game-winning goal in Game 3 to give the Sharks a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series provides the Blues extra fuel for their underdog tale.
"We did in the last series," captain Alex Pietrangelo told NHL.com. "We were down against Dallas and came back (to win the second-round series in seven games). We were down 2-0 (Wednesday night) and came back. We know how to look in the mirror, and we know how to get better. We felt we had control of a lot of the game, so we'll use that recipe for next game."
Lost in the controversial goal that will likely prevent referees Marc Joannette and Dan O'Rourke and linesmen Jonny Murray and Matt MacPherson from many more assignments this spring is the fact the Blues had all kinds of opportunities to close out the game long before Karlsson's handball goal.
St. Louis led 4-3 after two periods, and golden chances to score the much-needed insurance goal were thwarted by Sharks goalie Martin Jones, and a couple of opportunities to hit an empty net were missed. Throw in Pietrangelo's late icing infractions and porous team defense on the tying goal with 61 seconds left in regulation, and the Blues can find plenty to focus on instead of the botched call.
"We've got to close that game out in my opinion," said head coach Craig Berube, who will do all he can to keep his players focused on moving forward and not looking back. "We should have won it 4-3."
Blues forward Alexander Steen added, "That's (the) playoffs. Got to get ready for Game 4. Mental toughness. This is the Stanley Cup playoffs. You're going to get some bounces. Some bounces aren't going to go your way, so you've just got to move forward."
Which is what everyone involved in the game will attempt. The Blues will try to avoid getting caught up in what might have been, and the Sharks will look to build on the momentum of a win that came because they recovered from their own blown lead. San Jose was ahead 2-0 after the first period Wednesday.
"It's the playoffs," Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. "We've won stunningly. We've lost stunningly. When you get three rounds deep, you've seen it all. It's just reset and get ready for the next one. It's going to be harder than this one."
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NHL
Dunkel
Friday, May 17
San Jose @ St. Louis
Game 17-18
May 17, 2019 @ 8:00 pm
Dunkel Rating:
San Jose
11.423
St. Louis
12.933
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
St. Louis
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
St. Louis
-140
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
St. Louis
(-140); Over
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NHL
Long Sheet
Friday, May 17
SAN JOSE (56-33-0-10, 122 pts.) at ST LOUIS (54-33-0-11, 119 pts.) - 5/17/2019, 8:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 6-6-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.4 Units)
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NHL
Friday, May 17
Trend Report
San Jose Sharks
San Jose is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Jose's last 5 games
San Jose is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
San Jose is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games when playing St. Louis
San Jose is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of San Jose's last 9 games when playing St. Louis
San Jose is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
St. Louis Blues
St. Louis is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of St. Louis's last 9 games
St. Louis is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games when playing San Jose
St. Louis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of St. Louis's last 9 games when playing San Jose
St. Louis is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against San Jose
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