Sunday's Best NHL Bet
San Jose Sharks at Chicago Blackhawks (-175, 5.5)
Coming back from 3-0 series deficit isn’t an easy thing to do in the Stanley Cup, especially after a deflating loss like the Sharks suffered Friday night.
The Sharks tied the game late in the third period and outplayed Chicago for much of the overtime before a missed defensive assignment left Dustin Byfuglien wide open in the slot area.
"We just want to win a game and get back to San Jose and see what happens there," Sharks center Joe Thornton told the San Jose Mercury News.
The Sharks can take comfort knowing that the Flyers just climbed out of a 3-0 series hole last round against the Bruins.
"It just happened, so it's not impossible,” Sharks sniper Patrick Marleau said. “We can try to feed off of that.”
Yes, but Philadelphia’s turnaround began at home, much like the Red Sox’s back in 2004. Starting the long haul back on the road is no easy task.
Pick: Blackhawks
What Bettors Need To Know: Sharks at Blackhawks
Toothless Sharks
San Jose finished on the wrong side of another one-goal game and fell behind 3-0 in its best of seven series against the Blackhawks. Chicago only has to win at home on Sunday to secure its spot in the Stanley Cup finals.
The Sharks are on the brink of elimination despite not playing a bad game yet in this series. They’ve outshot the Hawks in all three games but haven’t been as opportunistic with their chances as their rivals.
"Nobody's feeling sorry for us," Sharks forward Joe Thornton told the San Jose Mercury News following Friday’s 3-2 overtime loss. "There are 13 teams in each conference that would love to be still playing right now."
Antti is the antidote
All season long, Chicago’s one big question mark was between the pipes. The club let proven vet Nikolai Khabibulin go in the offseason thinking Cristobal Huet could carry the load in his place.
But Huet proved unreliable and Antti Neimi won the starting job in the last month of the regular season. The Fin struggled at times in his first two playoff series but he’s rounded into form nicely.
Neimi carries a 1.50 goals against average, a .959 save percentage and a 4-0 record in his last four playoff games into Game 4 on Sunday.
"We're running up against a good goaltender. We've got to keep going and persevere," Thornton told reporters.
Lone gunman
The only Shark player who’s having any success against Neimi is Patrick Marleau. The former team captain has scored four of San Jose’s five goals in this season.
Dany Heatley is the Sharks’ top sniper but he’s been a shell of himself this postseason with just two goals this postseason.
"If you're a goal-scorer, you have to score goals," Heatley told the Chicago Tribune before Game 3. "I haven't gotten many so far. But I'm just trying to do the right things and create chances."
Home away from home
The Blackhawks are 7-1 on the road and just 4-3 at home during this year’s playoffs. The club decided to capitalize on the trend by trying to trick themselves into thinking Game 3 was an away date.
The Hawks checked into a downtown Chicago hotel after a morning skate before returning later that evening to the United Center for Game 3.
"I don't think we're superstitious as a group or anything like that,” Hawks captain Jonathan Toews told reporters. “Definitely the more time we spend together, the more we're focused on our job collectively as a team."
Apparently Chicago players are pushing to repeat the process for Game 4.
"I hope so — (it) has really good beds," forward Kris Versteeg said. "Four hundred bucks a night, I hope it does."
Don't forget...
Road teams facing elimination in this year’s playoffs are 6-2.
San Jose Sharks vs. Chicago Blackhawks
The San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks will both be trying to pick up a win on Sunday when they battle at United Center.
Dustin Byfuglien scored at 12:24 of overtime to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 win over the Sharks on Friday and have a commanding 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. The Blackhawks won the game as -150 favorites, while the five goals went UNDER the posted over/under (5.5) set by oddsmakers.
Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland added the Hawks markers in regulation. Antti Niemi stopped 44 shots in the win.
Patrick Marleau scored both goals in the Sharks loss.
Team records:
San Jose: 51-20-11
Chicago: 52-22-8
San Jose most recently:
When playing on Sunday are 7-3
Before playing Toronto are 4-4-1
After playing Chicago are 5-5
After a loss are 6-4
Chicago most recently:
When playing on Sunday are 5-5
Before playing Edmonton are 5-5
After playing San Jose are 7-3
After a win are 7-3
A few trends to consider:
San Jose is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Chicago
San Jose is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Jose's last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Jose's last 9 games when playing Chicago
Chicago is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing San Jose
Chicago is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Chicago is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 9 games when playing San Jose
Next up:
Chicago at San Jose, Tuesday, May 25
SAN JOSE (59-24-0-13, 131 pts.) at CHICAGO (63-26-0-8, 134 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 60-46 ATS (-21.3 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 36-16 ATS (+10.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN JOSE is 35-18 ATS (+8.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 8-7 (+2.0 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 8-7-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.5 Units)
SAN JOSE vs. CHICAGO
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Jose's last 9 games when playing Chicago
San Jose is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing Chicago
Chicago is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing San Jose
Chicago is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against San Jose
Western Conference Finals Game Four (Chicago Leads, 3-0)
SAN JOSE AT CHICAGO
SAN JOSE: 2-8 SU away after losing 3 of their last 4 games
CHICAGO: 17-5 SU off BB games allowing 2 goals or less