The San Jose Sharks hope to stave off elimination at the Enterprise Center in Game 6 of the NHL’s Western Conference Finals. This Western Conference matchup gets underway at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 21 and it is being shown live on NBC Sports Network.
San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
St. Louis heads into the matchup as the obvious favorite with a moneyline of -170. The line for San Jose sits at +150, and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -120 under, +100 over.
The Blues are 56-44 straight-up (SU) and have netted 3.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, ranked 1st in the Central Division in this young season, hasn’t moved much from the 44-38 record the team managed during the 2017-18 season campaign. Through 100 regular season outings, 51 of the team’s games have gone under the total, while 42 have gone over and just seven have pushed. The team is 28-22 SU at home this year.
St. Louis’ offense attempted 31.7 shots per game in the regular season, leading to 3.0 goals per contest (ranked 14th overall in the NHL). In the postseason, the team is managing an average of 31.6 shots on goal 2.9 goals per game.
Following a regular season where they scored on 20.2 percent of all power-play opportunities (the eighth-strongest), the Blues have connected on 16.7 percent of their power plays in the postseason. Their penalty kill has gone from 81.0 percent in the regular season to 77.5 percent in the playoffs.
With a .921 save percentage and 24.3 saves per game, Jordan Binnington (35-15-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Blues this season. If they decide to give him the night off, however, the team may turn to Jake Allen (19-27-27 record, .905 save percentage, 2.83 goals against average).
Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko will each be focal points for the Blues. O’Reilly (88 points) has produced 31 goals and 57 assists and has recorded multiple points in 21 different games this year. Tarasenko has 40 goals and 40 assists to his name and has notched a point in 54 games.
On the visitors’ side of the rink, San Jose is 56-45 straight up (SU) and has lost 10.8 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 57 of its matches have gone over the total, while 40 have gone under the total and just four have pushed. As an away team, San Jose is 24-25 SU.
San Jose has scored on 22.6 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s good enough for sixth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 15th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.0 percent of all penalties.
San Jose’s skaters have been penalized 3.8 times per game in total this season, and 4.8 per game over their past five contests. The team’s had to kill penalties a whopping 14.8 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Martin Jones (.898 save percentage and 2.94 goals against average) has been the main option in goal for San Jose. Jones is averaging 24.9 saves per game and owns a 47-34-6 record.
For the visiting Sharks, the offense will run through Brent Burns, who’s got 78 assists and 21 goals on the year.
San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues Betting Predictions
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their last five matchups.
- San Jose has managed 29.4 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while St. Louis is averaging 36.2 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- Penalties and power plays could be even more critical than usual tonight. The Sharks are 25-18 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 41-24 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Blues are 29-23 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 42-30 in games where their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- St. Louis is ranked 8th overall with 8.5 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward lately, as it has managed 9.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 10.4 takeaways over its last five.
- San Jose is ranked fifth with 9.3 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as the team has managed 8.6 takeaways over its last 10 games and 8.6 takeaways over its last five.
