Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Monday 5/13/19
The Western Conference finals continue on Monday, May 13, as the San Jose Sharks looked to jump ahead in the series after defeating the St. Louis Blues in Game 1, 6-3. San Jose jumped in front when Logan Couture scored his 10th goal of the playoffs at the 3:31 mark of the first. After St. Louis tied the score, back to back goals by Joe Pavelski and Kevin LaBanc extended the lead for San Jose to 3-1. Ryan O’Reilly made it a one-goal game, but a pair of goals by Timo Meier put the Sharks up by three. Couture would close out the scoring with a little over two minutes left in the contest, netting his second goal of the game.
Featured Games
Louis Blues (+116) vs. San Jose Sharks (-133)
St. Louis Notes
After allowing four total goals in their previous three contests, the St. Louis Blues suddenly found themselves in the middle of an onslaught as the San Jose Sharks would score 6 goals, five against Jordan Binnington. That was beyond out of the ordinary, to say the least. This was truly a combination of bad goaltending and terrible defensive play that allowed San Jose to get on top as they did. Don’t expect that to be the case in Game 2.
The first line for St. Louis has to start producing. The combination of Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko have combined for just one goal over the last five games, and the Blues need their top two players to come alive if they are going to win this series.
Something that the St. Louis coaching staff will definitely talk to the referees about is the fact that San Jose had four power-play opportunities while the Blues had just one. Look for that to be a different scenario in Game 2.
San Jose Notes
No one is surprised that San Jose can score goals, but six in a playoff game is a pretty big deal. While Couture adding two to give him 11 in the playoffs was a nice contribution, Meier scoring two to give him five total goals is just the kind of performance that this team relies on. Meier also added an assist. The team also has to be excited about the performance of Pavelski, who has two goals and two assists over his last two games.
San Jose scored six goals on just 25 shots, which is pretty impressive. They added a power-play goal, scoring once on their four opportunities.
Goaltending Matchup:
After allowing four total goals in his previous three starts, Jordan Binnington had a nightmare of a contest in Game 1, allowing five goals on 24 shots. His .792 save percentage was the worst of his career in a playoff game. To say that he has to be better is pretty obvious. Binnington still has solid numbers, posting a 2.58 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. This was the first time he has lost the first game of the series, so it will be interesting to see how he rebounds.
Martin Jones earned the victory in Game 1, stopping 28 of 31 shots he faced. Jones and the Sharks have won the first game of each of their three playoff series this season, but have lost Game 2 in the prior two series. It will be interesting to see if that trend continues. Overall, Jones has a 2.74 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. He has allowed nine total goals in the last three games.
Stat Pack:
Blues:
Goals For: 2.64
Goals Against: 2.79
Power-Play: 16.7%
Penalty Killing: 75.0%
Sharks:
Goals For: 3.27
Goals Against: 3.07
Power-Play: 19.0%
Penalty Killing: 81.1%
Trends to Know
St. Louis Blues are:
5-2 in their last seven games on the road.
16-7 in their last 23 games.
1-5 in their last six conference finals games.
San Jose Sharks are:
5-1 in their last six conference finals games.
6-1 in their last seven games at home.
8-3 in their last 11 games.
Prediction
There is a lot riding on the shoulders of Binnington for this contest. He must demonstrate that Game 1 was an aberration, putting a lot of pressure on him for this game. The defense could greatly help him out by playing much better in front of the net, but you have to believe that if he gives up a few early goals that the hook will be out. Right now, San Jose is just playing exceptionally well. It is not surprising to see them put up that kind of offensive display, which may be a little bit too much for the Blues right now.
St. Louis has lost the last four meetings in San Jose and the home team has won six straight games.
The total is set for 5.5, but we look for it to go over in this game. The Sharks can smell blood in the water and should jump on Binnington and the Blues defense early with their relentless for checking. We look for the Sharks to take the early lead and rolled to a 4-2 victory.
St. Louis Blues vs. San Jose Sharks Preview and Predictions 05-13-2019 in NHL
Logan Couture routinely shines under the bright lights of the postseason, but the 30-year-old wasn't alone as the San Jose Sharks won the series opener of their Western Conference final against the St. Louis Blues. Couture and linemates Timo Meier and Gustav Nyquist aim to ride the momentum of their eight-point performance into Game 2 of the series in San Jose on Monday night.
"(Meier) was a bull. When he skates and (with) his strength, he's tough to defend. We're fortunate enough to play with him on our line," said Couture, who joined Meier with two goals and an assist in Saturday's 6-3 win over St. Louis. Couture leads the NHL in goals (11) and points (17) in the playoffs, three tallies behind captain Joe Pavelski's franchise record set in 2016 while his point total is a fair distance behind the 30 he recorded in that playoff year. The Sharks improved to 7-2 at home during this postseason after taking advantage of 12 giveaways to hand the Blues their second loss in the last seven road contests. "It wasn't our best game. We didn't take care of the puck well enough," said Ryan O'Reilly, who snapped an eight-game goal drought by scoring in the second period of the opener.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA
ABOUT THE BLUES: Jordan Binnington is a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy on the strength of a sterling 24-5-1 run in the regular season, and the 25-year-old was not to blame in the eyes of his teammates despite surrendering five goals on 24 shots in the series opener. "He was great," fellow rookie Robert Thomas told reporters. "He made a bunch of great saves. We hung him out to dry." Jaden Schwartz set up defenseman Joel Edmundson's first-period goal to boost his point total to 12 in the playoffs after mustering just 36 in the regular season.
ABOUT THE SHARKS: Couture's 45 playoff goals trail only Washington captain Alex Ovechkin (50) for the most since 2010, while his double-digit goal totals in multiple postseasons made him the sixth active player with that distinction (Ovechkin, Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin, Patrick Kane, Nikita Kucherov). Couture resides two playoff points shy of 100, while Pavelski is one short of triple digits. Brent Burns (15) and Erik Karlsson (13) have combined for 28 points through the first 15 playoff games, the most for a defensive tandem since fellow former Norris Trophy recipients Paul Coffey (17) and Nicklas Lidstrom (15) accomplished the feat with Detroit in 1995.
OVERTIME
1. St. Louis RW Vladimir Tarasenko's minus-3 rating in the series opener dropped him to minus-8, tied with Tampa Bay C Steven Stamkos for the worst in the playoffs.
2. San Jose is one home win shy of matching its franchise record for most in a postseason (2016).
3. Blues F Brayden Schenn has been held off the scoresheet in seven straight games and 11 of 14 in the playoffs.
PREDICTION: Blues 3, Sharks 2
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7St Louis -8 San Jose
ST LOUIS are 19-5 ATS (14.3 Units) against good passing teams - averaging 5 or more assists per game in the 2nd half of the year in the current season.
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NHL
Long Sheet
Monday, May 13
ST LOUIS (53-33-0-10, 116 pts.) at SAN JOSE (55-32-0-10, 120 pts.) - 5/13/2019, 9:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 5-5 (+0.4 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 5-5-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.8 Units)
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NHL
Monday, May 13
Trend Report
St. Louis Blues
St. Louis is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
St. Louis is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games
St. Louis is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
St. Louis is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis's last 6 games on the road
St. Louis is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing San Jose
St. Louis is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of St. Louis's last 7 games when playing San Jose
St. Louis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against San Jose
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis's last 6 games when playing on the road against San Jose
San Jose Sharks
San Jose is 8-17 ATS in its last 25 games
San Jose is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
San Jose is 5-13 ATS in its last 18 games at home
San Jose is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 11 of San Jose's last 13 games at home
San Jose is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing St. Louis
San Jose is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of San Jose's last 7 games when playing St. Louis
San Jose is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Jose's last 6 games when playing at home against St. Louis
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NHL
Dunkel
Monday, May 13
St. Louis @ San Jose
Game 7-8
May 13, 2019 @ 9:00 pm
Dunkel Rating:
St. Louis
12.172
San Jose
11.184
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
St. Louis
by 1
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Jose
-130
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
St. Louis
(+110); Over
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