A rematch of the Western Conference Finals from three years ago is set to kick off this weekend, as the St. Louis Blues pay the San Jose Sharks a visit for Game 1 of the 2019 Western Conference Finals. Both teams are coming off hard-fought series that went to Game 7s. Don’t expect them to whine about fatigue, though. The sacrifice is all worth it when teams win in the playoffs. Who will take Game 1 and set the tone early in the series? The moneyline favors the home team on Saturday, with the San Jose Sharks priced at -125 to win Game 1.
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Betting Preview for St. Louis Blues vs. San Jose Sharks NHL Western Conference Finals Game 1 on May 11, 2019
Where: SAP Center, San Jose
When: Saturday, May 11, 2019, 9:00 PM ET
Line: St. Louis Blues (+105 moneyline) vs. San Jose Sharks (-125 moneyline) – view all NHL lines
TV Broadcast: NBC
Betting on the St. Louis Blues (45-28-9 Regular Season)
The hero for the Blues’ 2-1 double-overtime win in Game 7 of their second round series aganst the Dallas Stars was not someone from St. Louis’ top line nor on the second. It’s on the third, with Patrick Maroon scoring the goal in the second extra period to send St. Louis to the Western Conference Finals. That’s not to say that the Blues lack talent on their top lines, but Maroon’s heroics also brings to attention some of the shortcomings of the team’s best players. Star right winger Vladimir Tarasenko has five goals in the playoffs, but four of those were scored on the man advantage. He’ll have to produce more on even-strength situations. Tarasenko’s center in the top line in Brayden Schenn has also disappointed of late, having scored zero goals with zero assists over the last five games. He hasn’t scored since the first round. Meanwhile, second-line center Ryan O’Reilly hasn’t also scored since the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blues are hoping that at least one of those players’ scoring drought will end in the upcoming series against San Jose. There should be plenty of chances for them, though, as the Blues are ranked fifth in shot attempts percentage (53.24) in the playoffs.
The Blues are 5-1 in their last six road games.
Betting on the San Jose Sharks (46-27-9 Regular Season)
The Sharks are proving to be hard to kill in the playoffs. After going the distance to edge out the Vegas Knights in the first round, the Sharks also had to go the full route in the second round to take out the Colorado Avalanche. The Sharks’ offense has stepped up whenever the team needed to find the back of the net the most. The Sharks are third among all playoff teams with an average of 3.07 goals per game, which becomes even more impressive when considering the fact that San Jose isn’t doing pretty well in the possession battle. The Sharks are just 10th in these playoffs with 31.7 shots per game and just ninth with a 50.4 shot attempt percentage on 5-on-5 situations. Most of the recent Stanley Cup champions have great possession numbers, which is another way to say that if San Jose wants to raise the Cup this year, their blue line will have to work harder to win the possession battle against St. Louis, which appears to have the more superior control of the puck. Logan Couture leads the Sharks this postseason with nine goals, while he, Tomas Hertl, and Brent Burns are tied with 14 points.
The Sharks are 5-1 in their last six home games.
Writer’s Prediction
St. Louis wins, 3-2.
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